Baked Ricotta, Sicilian Style
Baked Ricotta
 |
| Crazy for the baked ricotta! |
When I hosted my last Sicily tour before COVID, we met numerous cheesemakers who specialize in Sheep\"s Milk cheese. One of the local traditions is to make Ricotta daily! It is eaten for breakfast with honey, fruit and nuts, as a snack on bread, as a condiment and of course in stuffings and fillings.
 |
| Tasting the fresh, slightly aged and cave aged sheep\"s milk goodness in San\"tAngello Muxaro, Sicily |
This little Sicilian recipe is one of my favorites for many occasions, or.. just nibbling on with a glass of crisp white wine.. Baked Ricotta!
Living in the Hudson Valley I have found the best ricotta here is Four Fat Fowl\"s Inagadda Ricotta
Will and Shaleena have nailed that hand made country ricotta texture! So grab some and whip this up!
 |
| The peeps (oh, bad pun!) have cheesemaking down! |
It is easy and worth it!
Serves 2-4
1 lb best quality ricotta cheese (See the link for Four Fat Fowl Inagadda ricotta above)
4-5 tbls best quality extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion or shallot, peeled snd thinly slices
sea salt to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
1 sprig of fresh rosemary. pickled from the stem and roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 350
If the cheese is wet, place it in a strainer and let it drain for an hour or so, removing most of the water. The Inagadda ricotta is pretty much ready drained.
Line an ovenproof casserole pan, terra cotta casuela or small cast iron with parchment paper. I like to tear the edges so it looks nice and rustic when it gets baked (like me?)
Press the cheese into the pan and using your hands, even out the tiop surface as best as you could.
Drizzle with the olive oil, swirling the pan to make sure it gets in all the nooks and crannies.
Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and crushed pepper.
Top with the thinly sliced onions and rosemary.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until onions toast and the cheese gets bronze spots.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before diving in, Smear on crostini, pita, toast, panelle or just spoon that shit right up into your jib!
Oh yea, You can also drizzle honey on it too.
Yes you can.
Ric Orlando 1.2021
Comments