This is the perfect al fresco dish, and a boujee alternative to crisps and dip. It brings a Southern Italy vibe to the table, which I’m always a fan of. You can have it as a side dish, starter, or as part of a BBQ spread. But my favourite is to serve it as a sharer, alongside a sundowner Aperol Spritz. Bliss.

Method

Pre heat the oven to 150C fan.

Peel the baby shallots – if the sizes are inconsistent, slice some in half, you want them to be a similar size to the tomatoes ideally. Mince the garlic to a coarse texture.

Place the shallots on a baking tray and add the tomatoes. Add the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme leaves & balsamic and use your hands to coat everything and then spread out in to one even layer. Place in the oven for 30 mins.

Remove from the oven and turn the heat up to 180C. Make a space in the centre of the tray. Up turn the ricotta tub on the tray, so you can slide the tub off and lift it off leaving the cheese in a whole piece. NB – it can be helpful to loosen the ricotta first by gently pressing around the sides or using a palette knife; avoiding squeezing the tub as you may break the cheese.

Drizzle the honey over the cheese and put back in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Optional – for something to dip in your ricotta, get a baguette/ciabatta loaf and cut in to slices. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and salt – place in the oven for 10-12 mins (same time as the cheese), but turn them half way through.

Remove the tray from the oven and leave to sit for about 3-4 minutes before moving. To remove the ricotta from the tray, use a wide spatula to slide underneath and then lift on to your serving plate. Arrange the tomatoes and shallots around & on top – they should be sweet and sticky by now. Finish with the fresh basil leaves & some black pepper – you can drizzle with more honey & olive oil if you like too.

Enjoy!