Uses for riccotta cheese?

[mandyky]

I have an extra container of riccotta and am unsure what to do with it. Any good recipes using riccotta cheese?

I found a calzone recipe using riccotta. Instead of pizza dough could I use Bisquick and pan bake it with eggplant, riccota, tommato, mushrroms, garlic, onions and green pepper? Should I saute the mushrooms, peppers, onions and eggplant before baking in the dough?

[eleny]

1. Two quick uses

When I make pasta with tomato sauce, we just plop a big tablespoon of it on the side of the bowl and mix as we eat. Also, I like it spread on toast for breakfast.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Cannolis!!!!!!!!!

The quintessential Italian Pastry is the cannoli.


Here are two links. This one:
http://www.homeschoolzone.com/m2m/recipes/cannoli.htm
has a pretty authentic filling recipe.

This one has an interesting twist if you can't find the premade shells and don't want to bother to make your own
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/36/Ice_Cream_Cone_Cannoli58559.shtml
It uses ice cream cones .... very inventive.

I make my own shells by using these tubes and then frying them in a deep fryer.


You can get the tubes from fantes, here:
http://fantes.com/cannoli.htm

[chefgirl]

3. One of my favorite cakes

I LOVE Ricotta cheese, and this is a VERY old recipe that was given to me by a VERY old Italian lady.
I'm going to type it just the way she gave it to me.

Easter Rice Cake

1 cup uncooked rice (not instant)
12 eggs, medium or large, 10 if bigger than large
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 lbs Ricotta cheese

Cook rice, rinse in cold water and drain. You'll have two cups, use all.
Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla well.
Add Ricotta cheese to mix on low.
Add two cups cooked rice. Mix well on low.

Pour into well greased, 10 inch tube pan.
Bake 375 for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours.
Remove and cool completely.
Tube pan with removable bottom is best.

This cake is EXCELLENT. Best eaten ICE COLD.
Just cracks me up the way little old ladies write out their recipes. LOL.

-chef-

[Stinky The Clown]

6. My mother wrote out her version of that many years ago - Called "Pastera"

Before she wrote it down, she made it entirely from memory and used only her hands and fingers as measuring devices.

The was a staple for Easter.

Curiously, your recipe has no crust. Was that intentional? Ours uses a pretty much standard pie crust and is done in a round cake pan, not a tube pan. But the essence of your recipe is the same as the one I have. Except we add chopped dried candied fruit to it. And some nutmeg.

The lady who gave you the recipe ..... Napolitano or Siciliano?

By the way, there's a similar pastry that is a first cousin to this. It is a savory version with ham and salami in it. Not at all sweet, it is intended as an entree, not a dessert, but is also eaten cold. I have the recipe around here somewhere, but I suspect it is also on the web somewhere. Also uses ricotta as a base. I remember as a kid when they'd make these a day or three ahead of Easter and store them in the unheated attic of my Grandmother's house. Up in Connecticut, that could serve as a refrigerator until well into April, so it was a safe place to keep them. Anyway, the legend was that the savory version had a serpent in it and the serpent turned into ham and salami on Easter morning, when Christ rose. Obviously a ploy to keep young fingers from picking at too soon! Ahhhh .... the superstitions of the overly religious!

I found this recipe on the internet, just now. Very, very close to what we did:

http://www.isi.edu/touch/recipes/rice.html

Pastiera
(aka Italian Easter Rice Pie)
Joe Touch

************************************************************
*** WARNING - this has not been recently debugged. ***
*** This is as much of a recipe as I have right now. ***
*** Use at your own risk, and let me know what to adjust.***
************************************************************

At Easter, my family makes a rice pie, that's a kind of a mixture of
cheesecake and rice pudding. This recipe is my mother's, from
my maternal grandmother, Nonni Cianfrani.

Ingredients:

(for the filling)

5 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons rum (blends with the vanilla for a nice
taste that doesn't have an overpowering
flavor - *light* rum works best)
1 lb. ricotta (not 'lite' - this is not a lite dish)
3 cups cooked rice (just according to directions,
NOT instant rice, not brown, not
'chinese', not risotto rice. Plain rice.)
chopped citron (chop very finely!)

(for the crust)

2 cups flour (more as needed)
1/4 cup oil (corn, safflower, etc - light tasting)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking
powder
dash of salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

jimmies (sprinkles) (pastel colors - it's for Easter!!)


The crust is combined and rolled just like a pie crust.
Our tradition is to cut it with a wavy-slicer, and make a lattice
on the top, aligned with the pan edges.

The filling is just mixed well.

Line the pan, and toast the lining (just like you'd do for a pie).
Fill, then top with a lattice of crust (don't cover it completely).
Add some sprinkles (I put lots, of course), AFTER it's all assembled.

This makes two 9x9 pans, 3" deep (I THINK!!) - it should be 2-2.5" thick.

Bake at 325 for 1 hour, until crust is golden and liquid has 'set'.
If watery after 1 hour, turn the heat OFF and leave in the
oven for up to 30-45 min to set. It's a custard - it has to
set, but it WILL NOT BE DRY.

Let cool **completely** before slicing.

-----------


Last modified Oct. 1, 1998.

Copyright 1998 J. Touch. All rights reserved.

[chefgirl]

7. No mistake

The version that was given to me has no crust, intentionally. It creates its own 'protein skin' on the outside when baked. Very thin, brown, egg crust. Very similar to the recipe that you posted from the internet... a cross between a cheesecake and a rice pudding, minus the pastry.

I do think Ive had what youre talking about, with a paste crust and dried fruits, but I think the texture and structure were really altogether different than this cake when its baked, but I'm only speaking from childhood memory. Also, the cake recipe I posted would be way too big for a regular cake pan, and I believe that without the tube in the middle, this one would be far too heavy to stand correctly.

The lady that gave me the recipe, I believe, was Sicilian, but I honestly cant be sure. She was my boss' mother, and Sicilian sounds about right. If you've ever worked for an Italian in New Jersey, you know what I mean. LOL.
I do hope someone here tries her recipe, because it truly is one of the best cakes I've eaten.

-chef-

[Heidi]

4. With powdered sugar, and cream or orange juice . . .

ricotta makes a beautiful icing for almost any kind of cake, and a nice topping for cinnamon rolls, as well. For cinnamon rolls and carrot cake, I add some orange rind for color.

[livetohike]

5. Slightly decadent but who cares?

RICOTTA MOUSSE WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

1 c. heavy cream
2 tbsp. unflavored gelatin (2 pkg.)
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 tbsp. grated lemon rind
15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 c. sugar
4 extra lg. egg yolks

1. Whip cream until stiff. Set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over lemon juice and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Place over low heat, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, add lemon rind and cool slightly.

3. Beat ricotta cheese with sugar until smooth. Add egg yolks and beat until well combined. Add gelatin mixture and thoroughly blend into ricotta mixture. Using rubber spatula fold in whipped cream.

4. Pour into lightly greased 6 cup mold and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

RASPBERRY SAUCE:

2 (10 oz.) frozen red raspberries in sugar, thawed
1 qt. strawberries, washed & hulled (used for garnish)

In a 1 quart saucepan, place thawed berries including syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened (about 6 minutes). Transfer to a fine strainer and set over bowl. Using back of wooden spoon, firmly press berries through strainer. Discard seeds. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

To Serve: Dip mold in warm water for 1/2 minute. Invert onto serving plate and garnish with sprigs of mint and fresh strawberries. Slice mousse into wedges. Top with a few strawberries and ladle raspberry sauce over individual servings.

[Beaverhausen]

8. Moosewood Cookbook has a great Ricotta Cheesecake recipe

It's lighter than a regular cheesecake. I haven't made it in a long time but I used to regularly. I always wanted to do it and put tiny chocolate chips in it.

[The empressof all]

9. Easy Cake Mix Ricotta cake

This is an amazingly simple and great cake that can be easily personalized into something of your very own.



2 lbs. ricotta cheese
3/4 c. sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla or almond extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 (18 1/2 oz.) pkg. yellow or lemon cake mix with pudding
Mix together the ricotta cheese, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Set aside. Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan. Carefully spoon the ricotta mixture over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 65 minutes or until cool. When the cake is done, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I've made this with coconut added to the ricotta mix with a chocolate cake mix for a "Mounds" cake. Add toasted almonds and almond extract for an "Almond Joy".


My sister makes this and adds strawberries on top.

I've thought about adding some espresso to the ricotta mix and using a chocolate mix for a tiramisu cake.

[Pert_UK]

10. Mix it with runny-honey and toasted ground almonds then fill a pastry case

with it for a classic Greek dessert...you can use lemon juice instead of the almonds if you like.

P.