I picked up a pound of fresh ricotta (made yesterday fresh) and am figuring out what I should make with it. I was thinking simple stuffed shells, with basil and tomato sauce.
I know there are tons of other things I could make that would highlight the ricotta, but I’m at a loss.
What are your suggestions?
(BTW, since the kidney transplant, I’m in high clover over all the cheese I’ve missed out on the past almost seven years, so if you have any high cheese content recipes, feel free to add them!)
Make gnudi, or ricotta cheese gnocchi. The recipe looks pretty simple: basically ricotta, flour, eggs, chopped basil and nutmeg. Roll them into little barrels or balls and simmer in salted water till done. Toss them in melted butter in a skillet and top with parmesan and chopped basil.
Dang, that recipe looks good. I’m going to have to try it. Potato gnocchi are a little bland for my tastes.
Two things that I really love making with fresh ricotta:
Panzanella salad with ricotta - I’ll often add some sauteed vegetables like kale, zucchini and mushrooms and sometimes other raw ones like cucumber or celery (picked that up based on how a local Italian restaurant does their panzanella salad) - I’m not huge into salads, but with the extra vegetables this is probably my favourite salad that works as either a side or stand-alone meal.
Pea fritters made with ricotta, zaatar, mint and feta, which is also in the cookbook “Simple” by Yotam Ottolenghi - a little more complicated to make (requires deep frying), but still not too bad and really, really delicious IMO.