Olive & Ricotta Toast for Heart Health: Big Flavor, Lower Cholesterol

If your doctor’s told you it’s time to lower your cholesterol, don’t panic because you don’t have to give up the foods you love.

This olive and ricotta toast is a simple, flavorful way to support heart health with ingredients that actually taste amazing.

Recipe first, b.s. story about why I love olives later.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup green olives, pitted and finely chopped

• ¼ cup apricots, roughly chopped

• 1 small shallot, finely diced

• 2 tbsp roasted red bell pepper, finely chopped (jarred is fine)

• 1 tbsp capers (optional)

• 1 tsp honey

• 1½ tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• Juice of half a lemon

• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 1/2 c whole milk ricotta

• 2 tbsp hot honey

• 4 slices sourdough bread, toasted

• 1 tbsp toasted pepita seeds

• Kosher salt to taste (go light as olives and capers already bring brine)

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl combine olives, apricots, shallot, red pepper, lemon zest, and parsley.

2. In another bowl add ricotta, honey and lemon juice to bowl. Stir to mix well.

3. Build the toast by adding a layer of ricotta, then topping with conserva mix.

4. Garnish with parsley, pepitas and some good olive oil.

Something I like to do to add more flavor and depth to a dish is to incorporate foods that have the notes I want to emphasize. So, for this, instead of adding a ton of salt to help cut through the ricotta, I added olives and capers - both known for their salty and briny flavor.

The same can be done with arugula if you’re thinking ‘peppery’. Just a thought to share. Cheers.