Ricotta ideas?

[Maureen B. Fant]

In a fit of enthusiasm I bought a small basket of good ricotta at the market Saturday, thinking we'd serve it as-is on Sunday, but we had so much stuff, I didn’t bring it out. Now every time I open the fridge it squawks at me that it's not getting any younger. I have realized for some time now that I greatly need new ricotta ideas, so here I am. Let me specify: I really don't want to make a sweet; I already know how to make regular pasta con la ricotta and view it as a last resort (though it may come to that), and I'm too exhausted from the Easter lunch yesterday to think about making ravioli. I might wait till tomorrow (when I can buy eggs) and make a tiella di Gaeta with ricotta, herbs, and onions, though my enthusiasm does not extend to the making of pastry. I also might just wind up putting it out with some excellent salami and bread and hoping Franco will eat it. Still, I'm sure there's some wonderful dish out there in ricotta land that I'm totally missing.

Maureen B. Fant

www.maureenbfant.com

[HungryC]

My favorite use for ricotta: spread on my morning toast, drizzled w/honey. (especially if I have the quality of ricotta you probably have)

[IndyRob]

Pastizzi. Mix about 15oz ricotta with two eggs and liberally season with salt and pepper. Roll out one package (this is the easy version) of puff pastry and cut out 18 3"-4" circles. Put a tablespoon of ricotta mixture on each circle and fold the circle over and seal the edges. Place upright (seam side up) on a sheet pan. At this point you can freeze at this point and bake from frozen later, or immediately bake at 425F for about 20 minutes until golden.

[LindaK]

Ricotta gnocci are quick and easy. There's a Corsican version in Dorie Greenspan's "Around my French Table" that is fabulous--it calls for spinanch and fresh mint, yum. You can see my pics and description over in the "Cooking with ..." topic: here.

Bonus: they freeze perfectly.

[Maureen B. Fant]

Yes that would be delish, though it wouldn’t make enough of a dent in my supply, and we're still working through the Easter sweets for breakfast. I can tell you it's also absolutely wonderful in a little bowl with maple syrup, but we're fresh out and anyway we still have a house full of sweets. But ricotta and honey are certainly a match made in heaven.

[Maureen B. Fant]

Gnocchi. With h. That is certainly an idea. These are essentially gnudi, only baked, which I'd like better. Thanks!

[Maureen B. Fant]

I don't think I can get readymade puff pastry, but this whole idea starts me rethinking about the teglia di Gaeta. Instead of one big pie, I wonder if it could work as the small bundles you describe. The filling contains mainly ricotta but also lots of onions, sliced and sautéed, lots of fresh herbs, and also some shredded scamorza (though I will have to go look because I may be hallucinating), also eggs. I can buy some sort of pastry or pizza crust, but I should probably just suck it up and try to make it.

[Lisa Shock]

Torta Pasqualina, Pizzagena, Pizza Rustica, etc. Then there's always ricotta cheesecake.

[djyee100]

There are a bunch of recipes using fresh ricotta in Rosetta Costantino's new cookbook, My Calabria. These are a few with ingredients that are in season. I haven't tried any of them, but they sound delicious.

Chicken Soup with Ricotta Dumplings, on Googlebooks:

http://books.google.com/books?id=86R77RdzTj8C&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=costantino+my+calabria+chicken+soup+ricotta+dumplings&source=bl&ots=vXYhNPGvd7&sig=PpufIaCv9LD0JcFh6XRA66MU3J4&hl=en&ei=CUi2TZ6zE4XEsAPDkaipAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Frittata with Fresh Ricotta. Adapted recipe on this blog:

http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2010/12/6/my-calabria.html

Shepherd’s-Style Rigatoni with Ricotta and Sausage, on Saveur website:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Shepherds-Style-Rigatoni-with-Ricotta-and-Sausage

[Paul Bacino]

djyee100,

Just bought the book you mentioned, "Rosetta Costantino's , My Calabria."

Cant wait!!

[djyee100]

Just bought the book you mentioned, "Rosetta Costantino's , My Calabria."

Cant wait!!

Good luck with your ricotta-making! I tasted both the frittata w/fresh ricotta and the shepherd's style rigatoni at a recent cooking class with Rosetta Costantino. I give both dishes two thumbs up, and I want to make them at home.

In class we made this appetizer with fresh ricotta. It's best when made with fresh, still warm ricotta that has drained for about an hour.

Bruschetta with Fresh Ricotta: Slice some crusty French or Italian bread about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Brush both sides of each slice generously with olive oil. Then grill or broil the slices on both sides until golden brown. Rub one side of each bread slice with a garlic clove. Top with a mound of fresh ricotta, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, and enjoy.

In class we grilled the bread on the stovetop, in a ridged pan for some nice grill marks, and that gave the bruschetta a smoky flavor. People liked it.