Ricotta is a soft, Italian whey curd cheese with a grainy texture and delicate flavor. It is eaten as an independent snack or added to sweet and salty dishes, sauces and fillings are prepared from it, put in salads and pastas.
Ricotta snacks
Many snack dishes are prepared from ricotta, as well as from cottage cheese. This soft cheese can be served for breakfast, seasoned with honey, cane sugar, sweet corn syrup, fresh berries or dried fruit, nut pieces, grated chocolate, and cinnamon. Try the Italian ricotta crostini sandwiches. Spread the cheese on lightly toasted slices of white bread, add slices of fresh pear or apple and drizzle with liquid honey. Lovers of salty snacks can mix ricotta with garlic, chopped herbs, season with salt and pepper. Delicious and fresh will make a ricotta pasta with dill, salt and lemon zest. It can be eaten not only spread on bread or crackers, but also with chopsticks made from fresh vegetables.
Ricotta contains less fat than another popular Italian cheese, mozzarella. Those who want to cook less high-calorie meals often substitute one cheese for another.
How to add ricotta to hot meals
Ricotta can be added to many hot dishes. It is ideal for filling in canneloni rolls and is stuffed with vegetables such as zucchini or peppers and mixed with other ingredients. Cheese is placed in various casseroles, omelets, added to pasta and sprinkled with fried vegetables. Ricotta is a traditional filling for popular Italian dumplings - ravioli and tortellini. You can make many different pies and pies from ricotta, often this cheese is used to make one of the varieties of cheesecake.
For the filling, a mixture of ricotta with spinach, pepper, salt and spicy herbs is most often used.
Ricotta recipes
Most often, ricotta is found in recipes "native" for this type of cheese in Italian cuisine. Try making light ricotta dumplings - gnocchi (gnocchi). You will need:
- 200 grams of fresh spinach;
- 50 grams of fresh parsley;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 150 grams of ricotta;
- 80 grams of wheat flour;
- 2 chicken eggs;
- 100 grams of grated Parmesan;
- a pinch of nutmeg;
- salt and freshly ground black pepper;
- olive oil for serving.
Rinse the spinach under running water, dry it, fold a few sheets into a "pile" and chop into thin strips. Put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 2 minutes, then drain and squeeze out the spinach. Chop parsley, pass the garlic through a press. Combine ricotta, spinach, parsley, garlic, and parmesan in a bowl. Add eggs, flour, season with salt and pepper, nutmeg, and stir using a fork. Wet your hands and form from the resulting mass into small balls, the size of a walnut. Place them on a tray and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Boil 5 liters of water in a large saucepan. When the water boils, reduce the heat and put in boiling water for 10-12 gnocchi at a time. Wait for the dumplings to float and use a slotted spoon to remove them. Place in a deep bowl and cover with foil while you cook the next serving. Serve drizzled with olive oil.
