Phyllo Ricotta Torte Food

PHYLLO TARTS WITH RICOTTA AND RASPBERRIES

Steps:

• Drain ricotta cheese in a sieve for 20 minutes; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 6 3-inch loose-bottomed tart pans with nonfat cooking spray.
• Leave phyllo sheets in a stack and use a ruler to trace 6 5-inch squares onto top sheet (3 squares across and 2 squares down). Using a sharp knife, cut along traced lines, through all 5 sheets of dough. Immediately line each tart pan with 5 sheets of dough, lightly brushing melted butter or margarine between each layer. Trim edges of dough.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, sugar, egg, orange rind, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Pour an equal amount of mixture into each tart pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown. Cool tarts slightly, then arrange raspberries on top. To serve, remove tarts from pans and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

PHYLLO PASTRY WITH FRESH FIGS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, lemon zest and juice, almond extract and sugar. Stir well and set aside.
• Lay 1 sheet phyllo dough horizontally on a flat surface. Brush lightly with butter. Fold phyllo in half, left to right, and brush the top lightly with butter. Then fold phyllo in half, top to bottom, and brush the top lightly with butter again. Fold once more, left to right. You should have a 4-by-6-inch rectangle. Brush top with butter and trim edges. Repeat with remaining 5 sheets phyllo, using 2 tablespoons butter per pastry. Lay pastry packages on a parchment-lined baking sheet and heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Spread each pastry package with a generous tablespoon of ricotta filling. Snip stems from figs and open them into star shapes by cutting from stem end in quarters, nearly to the bottom of the fig. Top each pastry package with 2 figs. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over each package.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove from oven, sprinkle with chopped almonds and drizzle lightly with honey. Serve at room temperature. If desired, cut pastries in half to make 12 small servings.

PHYLLO RICOTTA TORTE WITH SPRING HERBS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, ricotta salata, pecorino Romano, eggs, herbs and pepper.
• Brush Bundt pan with some of the melted butter. Drape 2 sheets of phyllo on top of Bundt pan, poke a hole into phyllo where center tube is and push phyllo into pan to line it. Do this with 2 more sheets placed perpendicular to the first 2 sheets. Continue adding phyllo sheets in this crisscross manner until all sheets are used. Edges of phyllo should hang over edges of pan.
• Scrape half of the ricotta filling into pan. Scatter prosciutto over ricotta, then top with mozzarella. Spoon the rest of the ricotta mixture on top. Fold edges of phyllo over filling. Using a sharp knife, poke at least 20 holes in dough that reach all the way to bottom of pan. Slowly pour melted butter over torte; some butter will seep through holes and some will remain on top of dough.
• Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour 30 minutes, or until torte is puffy and golden brown. Allow torte to cool in pan for 1 to 2 hours before inverting onto a wire rack and slicing. Serve warm.