the toppings

Honey-nut

Top with a drizzle of honey, a sprinkling of flaky sea salt and a tablespoon of chopped nuts or toasted sesame seeds (per slice).

Peach and prosciutto

Add one sliced peach to the honey-nut version above and, if you’re a ham fan, drape a slice of prosciutto over the top.

Jam

A tbsp of jam or compote (such as last week’s blackberry compote) right in the middle of each slice will do wonders.

Cucumber and dill

Use a potato peeler to make cucumbery ribbons (you’ll need less than half a cucumber) and arrange these in a tousled fashion over the ricotta. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, salt and chopped dill.

Pesto

Drizzle a tbsp of pesto over the top of each slice. You may need to mix in some extra olive oil to get it into a drizzlable state.

Sizzled dates

Heat three tbsps of olive oil in a pan and, when it’s hot, add four pitted and halved Medjool dates. Watch closely, they’ll caramelise quickly. As soon as they’re hot

and bronzed, like little toffee lumps,

arrange across the two toasts with a big

pinch of flaky salt and a drizzle of oil

from the pan.

Butternut squash and red onion

This one’s more involved as you have to roast a squash. Make it either because you require eight toasts (a great appetiser), or because you like having leftover squash to play with. Cut the squash into one-inch slices (leave the skin on) and two red onions into eighths. Toss with four tbsps of olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 220°C for about 45 mins, until cooked through. To top two toasts, take a quarter of the squash, cut the skin away, mash with a fork and add a few spoons of red onion. This, along with a big squeeze of lemon and some chopped hazelnuts, is your topping.