Peach And Green Tomato Souffle With Ricotta Cheese And Smithfield Ham Food

TOMATO PEACH SALAD WITH RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds out on a baking sheet and bake until light golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Cut an "x" in the bottoms of the peaches and tomatoes. Carefully add the peaches to the water and boil until the skins just start to peel back, about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the tomatoes, boiling for about 15 seconds. Set aside.
• Add the basil to the boiling water and cook until just wilted and bright green, about 15 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a blender and puree until smooth. With the machine running, add the olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
• Peel and pit the peaches; peel the tomatoes. Cut both into 1/2-inch slices.
• Spread the basil puree on a serving platter. Arrange the peaches and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and dollop the ricotta on top. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Top with the toasted almonds, garnish with whole basil leaves and serve.

RICOTTA, HAM AND SCALLION TART

Steps:

• Place a baking sheet on the top rack of the oven; preheat to 425 degrees. Grease a 9-inch fluted tart pan with 1 tablespoon butter. Line the pan with the pizza dough, carefully pressing it against the sides; trim excess dough.
• Whisk the ricotta, cream and egg in a medium bowl. Mince enough green scallion tops to make 2 tablespoons; add to the ricotta mixture along with the parsley and dill. Season with pepper. Slice the remaining scallions into 1/2- to 1/4-inch pieces.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add the sliced scallions and 2 tablespoons water; cook until the scallions are tender and start to sizzle, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the ham. Spread all but a few tablespoons of the scallion mixture on the prepared crust. Pour in the ricotta mixture, then scatter the remaining scallion mixture on top.
• Bake the tart on the preheated baking sheet for 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is set. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and slice.
• Photography by Antonis Achilleos

SPINACH RICOTTA FRITTATA

Steps:

• Spray a non-stick 9 or 10 inch omelet pan with cooking spray.
• Place over medium high heat, add butter.
• When butter is melted add the prepared vegetables and basil.
• Cook stirring often just until spinach is wilted.
• Whisk together the eggs and ricotta cheese.
• Pour egg mixture over cooked vegetables, cook until almost set, lifting edges frequently to allow uncooked portions to run to bottom of pan.
• When almost set, reduce heat, cover and allow to cook covered for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Invert onto a large plate and slip back into pan to finish cooking, top with grated parmesan cheese.
• Cut in half and serve on warmed plates.

HERBED RICOTTA SOUFFLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees and position rack in lower third. Butter a one-quart casserole dish and dust with flour, shaking out excess. In a bowl, whisk ricotta, egg yolks, salt, and herbs. Season with pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk whites until stiff peaks form. Working in two batches, gently fold whites with a large rubber spatula into ricotta mixture until just combined.
• Pour mixture into prepared dish and bake until puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch, 30 to 32 minutes.

DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE RICOTTA AND TOMATO PASTA SAUCE

Steps:

• Firstly, put on a large pot of salted water and bring to the boil, add pasta to water and cook until'al dente' approximately 8- 10 minutes.
• While pasta is on the go, finely dice your onion and crush your garlic.
• In a saucepan, put in the olive oil, when the oil is warm, add your garlic and onion and gently saute these until they are transparent.
• Add the ricotta to the pan, and stir through the onions and garlic well.
• At this stage, add your salt and pepper, parmesan, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.
• Mix well and let simmer gently for 10 minutes.
• Drain pasta.
• Turn the ricotta sauce off from the heat, add your fresh basil leaves, roughly torn, into the sauce.
• Dish up some pasta into a bowl, put some of the ricotta sauce on top of the pasta, and finish off with some extra shavings of parmesan if desired.

PEACH, TOMATO, AND RICOTTA SANDWICH

Steps:

• Spread ricotta on bread and top with tomato, peach, and onion. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with oil. Top with basil.

PEACH-AND-GREEN-TOMATO SOUFFLE WITH RICOTTA CHEESE AND SMITHFIELD HAM

Steps:

• Puree the 3 peaches in a blender and pass the mixture through a mesh strainer, food mill or juice extractor; you should have 1 cup of juice. Repeat with the tomatoes to produce 1 cup of juice. Discard all the solids.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan set over medium-low heat and whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Slowly add the peach and tomato juices, stirring until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta and yolks until smooth. Stir 2 heaping tablespoons of the hot juice mixture into the yolks and ricotta, then slowly stir the entire yolk-ricotta mixture back into the pan. Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and set aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and butter and flour an 8-cup souffle dish. Whip together the egg whites and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt until they form stiff but still moist peaks. With a wooden spoon, stir about 1/2cup of the whites into the sauce, then gently fold the sauce into the whites left in the bowl.
• Spoon 1/3 of the mixture into the souffle dish. Cover with a layer of the ham. Repeat with another 1/3 of the mixture and then another layer of the ham. Cover with the remaining mixture and bake, uncovered, until the souffle is puffy and well browned, from 35 to about 40 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and serve immediately, spooned out onto individual plates and garnished with the diced peach.