Broiled Ricotta Cheese With Brown-Butter Mushrooms

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh, full-fat ricotta
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed, plus 1 clove, halved
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 baguette, cut on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from online.wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat broiler. Spread ricotta across the bottom of a small, shallow casserole dish or 4 individual casserole dishes. Slide under broiler and cook until cheese browns on top and heats through, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté smashed garlic in olive oil until garlic starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic from pan and discard. Immediately add mushrooms to hot oil in pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until just browned, 30 seconds. Add a tablespoon of water and sauté mushrooms until water evaporates and mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat and leave pan on burner to keep mushrooms warm.

While mushrooms sauté, make brown-butter vinaigrette:
Melt butter in a small pan over low heat until it turns a deep brown color, about 3 minutes. Remove butter from heat and let cool slightly, 2 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar to brown butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer, place under broiler and toast until golden brown, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove baking sheet from oven and rub toasts with cut side of garlic half.

To serve, spoon warm mushrooms over ricotta and pour spoonfuls of warm brown-butter vinaigrette over top. Serve with garlic toasts.