Double the Deliciousness: Using Ricotta Two Ways in Your Cooking
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Beyond Lasagna: Discover the Versatility of Ricotta Cheese in Your Cooking!
This slice of lasagna has a thick layer of ricotta.
Ricotta is a common ingredient in other dishes besides lasagna, like cannoli or cheesecake. Growing up, I only associated ricotta with savory Italian dishes like lasagna or ravioli. Recently though, on my journey of learning to cook, my 75-year-old Uncle Gary taught an online cannoli-making class. I enrolled in the course, learned a bunch, and had fun making them. It was the first time I made dessert with ricotta. I still have my cannoli molds so that will definitely be another blog on a different day.
A creamy and versatile cheese, ricotta has been enjoyed for centuries. Traditionally, it is made from the whey leftover from the production of other cheeses, like mozzarella or provolone. In modern times, ricotta can also be made from whole milk, which produces a creamier and more flavorful cheese. I would need to sample a variety of ricotta cheeses to really understand the difference. As a cheese lover, I would do that research in a heartbeat.
Recipes Using Ricotta
Asparagus Salad with Seven-Minute Eggs
On many skims through Food and Wine, I’ve clicked on this Asparagus and Spring Onion Salad with Seven-Minute Eggs recipe a few times. It seemed easy enough to make but put it off to pair it with something fun. When I scrolled across Honey-Ricotta Mousse with Strawberries I thought the asparagus salad with that delicate dessert would be a good match. Thus, this next Food and Wine Night is inspired by ricotta cheese!
The easy part about this asparagus salad recipe was using the same pot of boiling water that cooked the asparagus, to cook the seven-minute eggs. They even shared an ice bath. Easy clean-up! Salads are always a nice Food and Wine Night for me because almost everything can be done way before service, allowing time to work on more complicated components of other dishes.
Ricotta is the surprising part of this salad. The ginger dressing has loads of flavor, but there was something about dragging the salad fork through the ricotta cheese before taking a bite of the ginger-spiced salad that brought it all together. It’s a great combo.
Ricotta Mousse with Honey and Strawberries
When it comes to shopping for ingredients I have a rule. If I can’t find the product in at least two stores I buy it online. Vanilla bean paste probably would have been at the third store, but with a toddler and work, going to a third store is always a bad idea. This is when I rely on the convenience of Amazon Prime.
I chose Watkins Organic Pure Vanilla Bean Paste because the reviews did not send me on a downward spiral of what the “best properties of vanilla bean paste” should be. It was also one of the more affordable products that I would receive the same week. Upon arrival, my sniff and taste test assured me there was nothing wrong with it.
Whipped heavy cream to create “stiff peaks” then gently folded in ricotta with honey and vanilla bean paste.
Mousse is not a dessert I’ve made before, but whipping heavy cream is always fun so I was excited to make it. This was not a complicated dessert to make. As long as you know what “stiff peaks” look like, you should be good to go. Also, don’t let that be a deterrent. You can find videos on YouTube like this that give you an idea about what to look for.
Dessert decorating is also fun for me. This one did not require fancy skills either. Plop the vanilla-speckled mousse in the dessert glass, and decorate it with sliced strawberries, toasted almonds, and mint leaves (don’t forget to smack the mint leaves.) Then drizzle honey over everything. It looked beautiful and tasted beautiful too. Yes, desserts can taste quite beautiful.
We’re Eating Healthy, Right?
I’ll be honest. I have no idea how healthy this pairing is. I will say that mentally, we felt healthier. I served each of us a big plate of salad on a whipped bed of ricotta. The asparagus and eggs gave the salad substance but were not heavy on the belly.
Asparagus Salad with Seven Minute Eggs by Little Plate
We felt less guilty about eating the creamy mousse, because “hey, we just had a salad for dinner!” Salad for dinner is like a free pass for whatever sweet treat you want. Unless you absolutely shouldn’t have sweets, then don’t listen to me, I’m not your doctor.
Ricotta Mousse with Honey and Strawberries by Little Plate
Plating at Home and in Your Restaurant
Food and Wine had a beautiful picture of the Asparagus and Spring Onion Salad. All the bright green with a pop of yellow egg yoke caught my eye several times. Laying the salad on top of the ricotta, arranging the eggs, and sprinkling the sesame seed is easy enough to work in a kitchen line. The asparagus salad I made was large enough to be featured on a menu with substantial salad entrees like a cob or shrimp salad.
I was extra excited about layering the Honey-Ricotta Mousse because I had the perfect dessert glasses to use. When my grandmother moved in with my mom, we all received a lot of houseware items she no longer needed. I was given a large collection of glassware. I have enough cocktail glasses from the 60s and 70s to make 100 future blogs.
Honey drizzle over Ricotta Mousse garnished with Strawberries and Mint
These particular glasses were very large and I just assumed by their size that they had to be for dessert. I showed my mom a picture and she confirmed my grandma used them for dessert glasses. A little Googling showed me that they could also be cordial glasses or snifters. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that I finally got to use them.
My grandmothers vintage glassware.
Our portions of the mousse were pretty heavy-handed. For a restaurant dessert menu, all you would need is a small scoop of mousse, garnished with fresh strawberries, mint, toasted almonds, and light honey drizzle on a dessert plate. The strawberries and mint and an enjoyable palette-cleansing after-dinner treat.
Just add a drizzle of honey and your have a fresh new dessert item to add to your restaurant menu.
The Fun of Fresh Cheeses
If you’re a fan of fresh cheeses: mozzarella, feta, cottage, cream, and mascarpone, then ricotta will definitely make you happy. It has a mild flavor, is slightly sweet, and is slightly tangy. Mike and I really enjoyed the asparagus salad and ricotta mousse. I had leftover ricotta and bookmarked other ricotta-friendly recipes. Additionally, I did a fair amount of online research on ricotta cheese. The production of fresh cheeses is pretty interesting. I had fun making fresh butter at a country fair once and I imagine fresh or farmers' cheese is pretty fun too. One of these days I’m going to give it a try!
