La Dispensa~ Ricotta
Some Easter dishes to celebrate fresh ricotta, savory and sweet
It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years. In this Culinary Memoir, Simply Divina Becoming a Tuscan cook, one recipe at a time, I will share how I ended up living and working in Tuscany. It takes a village or, in my case, a renaissance town, Florence, to share the secrets of local recipes and, at the same time, build up friendships in a new country.
Essays and recipes
La dispensa: Setting up your Tuscan Kitchen
Amici- Meet my mentors
As a paid member, you have access to the entire archive online and my ebook Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen.
This month’s Dispensa Item is fresh Ricotta.
Something magical happens in Spring. The hills are filled with new grass, and the sheep and cattle feeding on the open range produce a different kind of milk—the beauty of seasonal changes in flavors.
Italy has both sheep’s milk ricotta and cow’s milk ricotta. It is a personal preference which one you use, and the flavors change over the seasons.
If you are lucky enough to come and taste a freshly made warm ricotta, you will die and go to heaven.
In Sicily, it’s called Zabbina. People come to their local shepherds and leave pots to bring the hot curds and whey home. They eat it like a soup with the local bread.
The magical mousselike ethereal cloud served warm. When they pour this into the cheese-making baskets, the curds stay in the basket, and the whey drains off.
I am including various recipes for our Homework this week to celebrate ricotta.
The actual cheese is a by-product of cheesemaking. Fresh milk is heated, the rennet added, and then it rests, turning into curds and whey.
The curds are drained off, put into the cheese forms, and salted to age.
When the whey is “re-boiled”—recooked into ricotta—it is put into baskets and used fresh.
I am sharing several favorite recipes
Ravioli Nudi and Sformata
Torta Pasqualina
Crespelle
Sweets-
Torta delle Monache - Almond Ricotta Cake
Crostata di Pear and pecorino ( two versions)