Ricotta.
Real Ricotta is from cooking they whey after making cheese- recooked.
One of the most delicious foods in Italy is fresh ricotta. In Spring, the sheep eat fresh grass and herbs that impart a delicious flavor. Ricotta is made by recooking the whey when making cheese. The make-your-own ricotta at home recipes make fresh cheese, not true ricotta.
Our local shepherd sells his sheep’s milk cheese at the Saturday market in town. You have to preorder the ricotta as it sells out quickly. Fresh ricotta needs to be used promptly. It can be eaten on its own, but it is most often used to fill ravioli or crepes as a first course.
Ricotta is used extensively in Tuscan cooking, especially at Easter. It is used for both savory and sweet dishes.
Ravioli, Gnudi, Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms and Crespelle alla Fiorentina are typical first courses.
Years ago, near Siena, I discovered a new recipe for a crostata with ricotta and pears, which I make and teach often.
In Naples, they make a Pastiera with boiled grain and ricotta, flavored with citrus rind and candied fruit.
In Rome, they make a ricotta and dark cherry tart year-round. There is a bakery in the Ghetto that is famous for its version, Boccione.
This was my inspiration for this week’s recipe for the paid subscribers.
I live in Tuscany, and many shepherds are from Sardegna or Sicily.
I adore getting caught in a sheep traffic jam. Just down the hill from me are shepherds, and I pass by them a couple of times a year while they are being moved from one field to another.
If you are lucky enough to see cheese being made, the milk has rennet added to it, creating curds and whey. The curds are pressed into forms and become cheese to age. The whey has some milk added back, is recooked ( ricotta), then strained and put in a basket to drain.
Just before they collect the ricotta to drain, you can eat it as is. In Sicily, it’s called zabbina. People show up at the cheese maker’s shop with their pots to bring the zabbina home. It is eaten like a soup, served with bread.
There are so many delicious desserts made using ricotta, from a simple small cookie glazed and decorated to the elaborate Cassata Siciliana, with candied fruit and marzipan decorations. Whipped ricotta, sweetened and layered with sponge cake, is in a marzipan ring with a fondente glaze and the classic cannoli.
I am sharing some of my favorite recipes with ricotta this week for my paid subscribers
Ravioli Gnudi
Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Roman-Style Ricotta Cake with Cherry Filling