Sweet Ricotta Food

SWEET RICOTTA

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.
• Process for 2 minutes or until smooth.
• Serve with sweet crunchy cookies like pizzelle and fresh fruit slices

FRESH BERRIES & SWEET RICOTTA

Steps:

• Place the Homemade Ricotta in a medium bowl and stir in the sugar, honey, and vanilla. Set aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours. In another bowl, combine the strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.
• When ready to serve, divide the berries among 6 bowls. With an ice cream scoop, place a large dollop of the ricotta in each bowl and drizzle with lots of the Fresh Raspberry Sauce. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and serve.
• Set a fine-mesh sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 pieces of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with a double layer of the cheesecloth.
• Pour the milk and cream into a medium stainless-steel or enameled pot, such as Le Creuset, and stir in the salt. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and pour in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for one minute, until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).
• Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 minutes (for soft ricotta) to 25 minutes (for firmer ricotta), occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining liquid. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• The ricotta will keep, refrigerated, for 4 to 5 days.
• Place the raspberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and the framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Pour into a container and chill. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to one week.

SWEET RICOTTA PASTRIES

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Bring milk and zest to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan, then remove from heat. Whisk together yolk, sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk in milk, then transfer mixture to saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, and boil 1 minute. Stir in vanilla, then transfer to a clean bowl and chill custard, its surface covered with parchment paper (to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least 1 hour. Discard zest.
• Pulse ricotta in a food processor until smooth. Whisk into custard. Stir in orange-flower water and citron. Chill until ready to use.
• Prepare pastry while custard chills:
• Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in cleaned food processor until combined. Add butter and zest and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add yolks and water and pulse until just incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, using a pastry or bench scraper if you have one, and form into a ball.
• Generously butter muffin cups and top of pan. Press 2 tablespoon dough over bottom and up side of each muffin cup in an even layer with well-floured fingers. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, roll out remaining dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 9-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and transfer to a baking sheet, discarding top sheet of paper. Cut 12 (1/2-inch-wide) strips, then cut in half crosswise to make 24 strips total. Chill until ready to use.
• Assemble and Bake pastries:
• Spoon a scant 2 tablespoons filling into each muffin cup and smooth, then crisscross 2 strips on top of filling, trimming to fit. Brush pastry cross with egg wash. Bake until filling is puffed and starting to crack and edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Invert a rack on top of pan, then flip pan and remove. Turn pastries right side up and cool completely.

SWEET RICOTTA PIE

Steps:

• To prepare the crust, in a medium bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and sugar with your hands. Using a grater, grate the orange and lemon zests into the flour mixture. Reserve the fruit of the orange and lemon for the filling. Add the vanilla, eggs, and butter, kneading them into the mixture with your fingertips. This dough should have a smooth, even consistency, so if the mixture is still crumbly, add cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time until you can easily form the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To prepare the filling, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the ricotta until it has a smooth, even texture. Mix in the sugar on medium speed. Mixing on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time. After all of the eggs have been added, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix again on medium speed for about 20 seconds. Add the vanilla. Either squeezing firmly with your fingers or using a citrus squeezer, add the juices from the orange and lemon (if you are squeezing the juice out with your hands, be sure the pits don't get into the filling mixture). Mix the ingredients on medium speed until they are thoroughly combined.
• While assembling the pie, be aware that this dough is extremely delicate (see page 185), so be sure to sprinkle your work surface and rolling pin generously with flour. To prepare the pie shell, divide the chilled ball of dough in half. Roll out one half to a circle about 12 inches in diameter, approximately 1/4 inch thick. Fold the circle in half, place it in a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate so that the edges of the circle drop over the rim, and unfold the dough to completely cover the pie plate. Because this dough is so delicate, coat your fingertips with flour before crimping the crust. Using your thumb and index fingers, crimp the edges of the pie shell.
• To assemble the pie, spread the filling across the bottom of the pie shell, distributing it evenly. Roll out the second half of the dough, again to about 1/4-inch thickness. Using a sharp knife or a pastry wheel, cut the round into 3/4-inch strips. Place the strips over the top of the pie filling, lattice style, so that the edges of the strips meet the crimped edges of the pie shell. Ultimately, you want to create a checkerboard effect, with the lattice strips placed both vertically and horizontally across the pie.
• To bake, place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pie 180 degrees for even browning. Bake for approximately 20 more minutes, or until the pie is firm in the middle. Transfer the pie plate to a wire cooling rack and allow the pie to cool completely before serving.
• Sweet Ricotta Pie should be served cold or at room temperature. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Working with Delicate Crust
• Because the dough for the sweet ricotta pie is so delicate, it may tear during the rolling process or while being placed in the pie pan. If this does happen, you can easily solve the problem by patching up any holes or tears with dough scraps moistened with a few drops of water applied to the holes, blending together with your fingertips.

SWEET RICOTTA TOPPING

Steps:

• Place ricotta, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in food processor container; cover. Process until smooth. Spoon into medium bowl.
• Add whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Cover.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

SWEET RICOTTA TOPPING

Steps:

• PLACE ricotta, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in food processor container; cover. Process until smooth. Spoon into medium bowl.
• ADD whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Cover.
• REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour before serving.

SWEET RICOTTA DIP FOR FRUIT

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients.
• Chill.