I ate a cannoli almost every day in Sicily, they replaced my daily Italian Gelato during this trip. I sampled many different varieties and flavors, meanwhile judging them all and trying to create the optimal combinations for my own. I decided that my favorite flavor combinations were ricotta with chocolate chips, ricotta with pistachio, and ricotta with candied orange, so that is what I decided to make for the dinner.
Tag: ricotta
Handmade Pasta with Ricotta Lemon and Squid Ink Sauces
Today, I wanted to share with you my favorite of the trio, my Homemade Pasta with Lemon Ricotta and Squid Ink Sauces. Yes, you heard that right! Two sauces! I had a dish in Catania where ricotta was paired with squid ink, and this inspired the sauce pairing. I wanted to elevate a humble pasta dish with homemade pasta and the aesthetic experience of mixing ivory and ebony. There is a subtle warmth to the color of a ricotta cream, and a bit of lemon juice and zest brings out the luxurious creaminess of ricotta. I served the pasta mixed with this sauce. On the side, I served a gorgeously complex sauce of aromatics fried and blended in with squid ink, cooked with pieces of squid. This black, velvety sauce, once poured onto the pasta with Ricotta cream, creates an instant contrast both visually and on your palette. I am so proud of this dish I can’t even explain how wonderfully it worked out.
Spinach and Chard Quiche
My filling, inspired by chef Alain Ducasse, had some lambs brain in it for a bit of extra flavor. If you want to add it, a half a lamb’s brain will do, or perhaps a bit of prosciutto or some pancetta.
Ravioli à la Monégasque
Monégasque means of Monaco, and it appears that this is a variation of one of Monaco’s national dishes. A ravioli filled with chard, spinach, cheeses, and a bit of lamb’s brain (because why wouldn’t you?) is served on top of a stew of beef braised in red wine with carrots and herbs, very much like a Boeuf Bourguignon.
Corn Uova da Raviolo – Egg Yolk Ravioli
During the summer (and all year really) my recipes revolve around the ingredients that I have surrounding me. This week I have plenty of eggplant and fresh corn on the cob. I decided I wanted to make a corn filled ravioli for a group of friends who were coming over for lunch. That lunch turned into a brunch, so I decided the most expedient way to solve my menu problem was to put an egg on it! Thus, I reinvented my Uova da Raviolo recipe from earlier this summer.
I really wanted to play up the corn, and didn’t want to waste the husks so I boiled them for about an hour and then used the water to both cook the pasta and flavor the sauce. It is traditional to use pasta water to thicken a sauce, so I figured the blending of the loose gluten from the pasta and the flavor of the corn would pair beautifully with a simple wine and sage butter sauce.
Ricotta Pizza with Grilled Zucchini and Sun-dried Tomatoes
I was having some friends over for a lunch and had some ingredients that needed to be used up. I made way too much Ricotta, so I have been slowly using it up! Need ideas for Ricotta recipes? Try out my Swiss Chard, Ricotta, and Soppressata Ravioli or Egg Yolk Ravioli with Ricotta. Have too…
Swiss Chard, Ricotta, and Soppressata Ravioli in Wine sauce
I have been on an Italian food kick recently and purchased an awesome adjustable, double fluted pastry wheel…and I have been itching to use it! I decided to pick some chard from my garden and use up the whey from making mozzarella to make some ricotta filling. I found some soppressata in the back of…
Homemade Herbed Ricotta and Tomato Salad
This is my first year growing tomatoes, and I have been patiently waiting while my first three tomatoes ripen. Today was the day, they smelled delicious and their skin was a perfect red, we decided to harvest our first tomatoes! How do you do your first tomatoes justice though? I didn’t want to cook them…
Chez Nous 