Ricotta and Chocolate Cake

It may sound unusual to use ricotta in a cake batter in this way but it really works and goes so well with the chocolate. The texture of the cake is completely different from a normal sponge cake base; the ricotta makes it denser certainly but don't be alarmed - it's not at all heavy and stays beautifully moist. It cuts and travels well which makes it perfect for summer picnics or to take on a walk as a well-deserved snack. It also lasts for a couple of days so you can make it the day before without compromising flavour or freshness. 

This cake is my submission to Choclette’s long-running We Should Cocoa challenge, which is being hosted this month by Choclette herself. The theme is Anything Goes. You can find details of the challenge and past entries over at Choclette's fantastic, relatively new home Tin and Thyme where she blogs not only about chocolate but also Cornish life and food. 

This also fits in neatly with Karen's Tea Time Treats challenge, over at Lavender and Lovage. The theme is Summer Holiday Baking and as I mentioned before, the portability of this cake makes it ideal for a picnic or indeed a camping trip, both staples of a summer holiday. You can read co-host Janie's wonderful July line-up over at Hedgecombers. 

Finally, I'm sending this over to Jibber Jabber's Love Cake challenge as the theme this month is Pack me a Picnic. 

RECIPE

250g ricotta
100g caster sugar
3 eggs
250g self raising flour
80g butter, melted and cooled slightly
120g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Grease and flour a round cake tin, 22cm diameter

Start by creaming together the ricotta and the sugar. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition.

Remove one tablespoon of flour and sieve the rest. Fold the sieved flour gently in to the ricotta mixture. Beat in the cooled, melted butter and the vanilla extract. Finally, add the reserved tablespoon of flour to the chopped chocolate (this stops it from sinking to the bottom of the cake) and mix roughly before folding into the batter.  

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

Put in the oven and bake for about 30-35 mins or until the cake is cooked and a cake tester comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 mins before carefully turning out and leaving to cool on a wire rack. 

Broad Bean, Mint and Ricotta Bruschetta

Broad beans (sometimes known as fava beans) have only a short season (end of May to mid-July) so it makes sense to use these sweet, creamy beans whenever you can. The inspiration for this recipe came from a holiday in Puglia when we ate raw, just-picked broad beans with some ricotta that we had got freshly made from a local farmer, so fresh in fact that it was still warm when we got it home. It was a memorable lunch. 

These long summer days lend themselves to this kind of food, a simple bruschetta with gorgeously fresh broad beans, creamy ricotta, finished with mint and some sea salt. It's quick to prepare, satisfying, with flavours that sing of summer. Oh, and to do it full justice, it really needs to be eaten outdoors, in the garden, on a sunny afternoon. Summer perfection. 

I'm sending this over to Karen from the wonderful Lavender and Lovage for her Cooking with Herbs challenge, which consistently showcases delicious recipes featuring a whole array of herbs. 

RECIPE

I'm not giving weights and quantities here as they're very much up to you but what you need are:

ricotta 

fresh broad beans

fresh mint

extra virgin olive oil

bread

First, prepare the broad beans. Remove the beans from their pods and boil in non-salted water (the salt makes them tough) for about 2 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of cold water. I double pod the beans for this bruschetta but it's up to you. I quite enjoy doing it, using my nail to slit the skin and then squeezing out the bright green bean inside. 

Lightly toast whatever bread you are using under the grill and leave to cool slightly before spreading with some ricotta. Tumble over the broad beans and scatter with roughly chopped mint. Add a drizzle of olive oil and finish with some sea salt.

Penne with Asparagus and Ricotta

A surfeit of meat whilst on holiday in Austria last week and some sunny weather have left me longing for light, summery dishes. Asparagus fits the bill perfectly and is still in season so I decided to try to come up with a pasta dish, rather than the usual asparagus risotto that is frequently seen at this time of year.

There are basically only three ingredients - asparagus, ricotta and a shallot and yet it worked beautifully as a pasta sauce. The delicate flavour of the asparagus wasn't overpowered by the ricotta and the shallot just added a gentle kick. Add a sprinkling of parsley and a generous grating of parmesan and you've got a wonderfully quick, fresh, delicious supper. 

I'm sending this over to Jaqueline's (from Tinned Tomatoes) monthly challenge, Pasta Please, hosted this month by Lucy over at BakingQueen74. 

RECIPE
200g green asparagus
100g ricotta
1 shallot
handful of fresh parsley
4 tablespoons olive oil

300-400g pasta, any shape you want

Wash the asparagus, then cut off the tips and set them aside. Boil the spears in lightly salted water for about 5-7 minutes - they need to be much softer than when eating them on their own as they are going to be blended with the ricotta. 

Place the asparagus spears in a food processor with some salt, pepper, the ricotta and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until smooth.

Blanch the asparagus tips for about 1 minute in boiling water (I usually just throw them into the water I've got boiling for the pasta), then fish them out and leave to drain. 

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water.

In the meantime, finely chop the shallot and cook gently in a frying pan with the rest of the olive oil until softened.

Add the asparagus and ricotta sauce, the blanched asparagus tips and mix everything gently together, leaving on the heat for a few minutes to warm through. Chop the parsley roughly and add it to the sauce. If it looks too thick, add some of the pasta water to thin it slightly. 

When the pasta is al dente, drain and mix everything together well.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

La Pastiera Napoletana - Neapolitan Easter Tart

Pastiera is a traditional tart from Naples, with a crisp pastry case and a rich, creamy, sweet filling made from ricotta, cooked wheat, eggs, spices and candied peel. Its origins go back along way; in pagan Naples, this tart was made to celebrate the coming of Spring but now firmly belongs to the Easter festivities. The name comes from the word 'pasta' which is what was originally used in the filling instead of the cooked wheat.

The wheat now comes in a tin, ready cooked and prepared just for making this wonderful tart. If you live near an Italian deli, you should be able to buy it easily. If not, you can find it online, called 'Grano Cotto' and it usually says 'per pastiera'.

This isn't something you can make and bake in a hurry; there's a long list of ingredients and it's quite time-consuming to prepare. However, it's not difficult and your reward is a wonderful, rich tart that feels suitably celebratory. It easily serves 8-10 people, perfect for dessert on Easter day.

As the theme is Step into Spring, I'm sending this to the Love Cake challenge, run by JibberJabberUK.

RECIPE

• For the pastry

250g plain flour
125g butter
80g icing sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• For the filling

350g ricotta
300g caster sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g candied peel
1 tesapoon cinnamon
zest of 1 lemon
30g butter
200ml milk
250g cooked wheat 
1 vanilla pod
25ml orange flower water

For the pastry, chop the butter and put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Take it out and put it into a food processor together with all the other pastry ingredients except the egg and egg yolk. With the double blade attachment, whizz until the mixture is the size of small peas. Then add the egg and egg yolk and pulse until it just starts coming together. Dump out onto a board and form the mixture into a ball, flatten it down a little, wrap in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 30 mins. 

While the pastry is chilling, you can make a start on the filling. In a saucepan, heat the milk, cooked wheat, lemon zest and butter together until it starts to simmer. Keep it simmering gently until it is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and leave the mixture to cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the pastry out thinly and use it to line a 25cm round, loose-bottomed tin, leaving some to create a lattice effect on the top of the tart. Put it back in the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you continue with the filling. 

In a food processor, whizz together the eggs, ricotta, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla seeds (scraped out of the pod) and orange flower water until you have a smooth liquid without any lumps.

Add the two mixtures together and finally fold in the candied peel. Pour the mixture carefully into the prepared pastry case and cover the top with a pastry lattice. The filling should come almost up to the top. Brush the lattice lightly with egg wash.

Bake in the oven at 200°C for 60 minutes until the tart is puffed and golden. 

Leave to cool in the tin.

Keep in a cake tin in a cool place for about two days before eating.

Gnudi - Tuscan Spinach and Ricotta Dumplings

Although they may resemble gnocchi, these little dumplings are in fact quite different as they don't contain potatoes. This makes them light and delicious. Originally from Tuscany, they are basically the filling of classic ravioli but without the outer pasta layer hence the name Gnudi which in Tuscan dialect means 'nude'. You don't often find them in restaurants as they don't keep well once they're made but they're easy enough to prepare at home and well worth it. They just need delicate handling - they're so light they're practically little clouds.

The classic version contains only spinach but I like to add fresh parsley to the mixture as well, to give the flavour a bit of a lift. You could add other herbs too - I like the idea of fresh mint or maybe basil.

This post is making its way over to one of my favourite challenges, Herbs on Saturday, soon to become Cooking with Herbs and sporting a lovely new badge to boot! The challenge is created and hosted by Karen from the wonderful Lavender and Lovage.

I'm also sending it to Javelin Warrior's wonderful weekly challenge which encourages everyone to cook from scratch, Made with Love Mondays.

RECIPE - serves 4

450 g fresh spinach
50g fresh parsley, roughly chopped
500 g ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
70 g flour
100 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt
nutmeg
pepper

6 sage leaves
50 g butter

Drain the ricotta of excess liquid by leaving in a colander for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. 

Wash the spinach, drain briefly and put in a saucepan just as it is to wilt, turning it over from time to time so that the leaves on top cook as well as the leaves on the bottom. Allow to cool slightly then chop roughly. 

Meanwhile, mix the ricotta cheese with the flour, eggs and parmesan, stir well and add a pinch of nutmeg,  and season well with salt and pepper. Stir and add the chopped spinach and fresh parsley. Mix everything together thoroughly. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. 

Shape the mixture into oval dumplings, slightly smaller than golf balls. Place gently into the boiling salted water. They are ready when they float to the surface, it usually only takes a few minutes. 

While the gnudi are cooking, melt the butter with the sage leaves. 

Remove the gnudi from the water with a slotted spoon, place in a serving dish and pour over the melted butter. Serve with more freshly grated Parmesan. 

Roasted Pepper and Ricotta Pasta

A staple of Italian cuisine, peppers are incredibly versatile. When roasted  they become sweet, soft and smoky but I love them raw too, so crunchy and refreshing, although you rarely find them in their uncooked state in Italy as they're considered highly indigestible. As an aside, the Italian word for peppers is peperoni which I thought worth mentioning here in case of any confusion when ordering a pizza in Italy; pizza con peperoni is a pizza with peppers, if you want US style 'Pepperoni Pizza', then you should  ask for pizza con salame piccante. Just thought it might be useful...

In this pasta recipe, the peppers are roasted and peeled before being blended with ricotta to form a thick creamy sauce which is then added to some softened onion, fresh tomatoes and chilli. The tomatoes provide a nice acidity which works well with the smooth, rich sauce and chilli gives a little kick.

This month's One Ingredient Challenge, started by Laura of How to Cook Good Food and Nazima from Franglais Kitchen, is Cheese so I'm sending this over to Nazima who is the host for April. I absolutely love cheese so can't wait to see the round up at the end of the month!



As the theme is Chilli, I'm also sending this to Shaheen for Allotment 2 Kitchen who is April's host of Pasta Please, a wonderful challenge started by Jac from Tinned Tomatoes.




RECIPE
2 red peppers
100g ricotta
half a fresh chilli, finely chopped
half an onion
100g cherry tomatoes
4-5 tablespoons olive oil

300-400g pasta, any shape you want

Start by roasting the peppers. Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature and put the peppers in whole, on a greased baking tray. Leave for about 25 mins, turning occasionally. The skins should be blackened and starting to peel away. Remove from the oven and put them in a plastic bag to cool before peeling them and eliminating the seeds and core.

Place the peppers in a food processor with some salt, the ricotta and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until smooth, adding more olive oil if necessary and adjust the seasoning.

Cook the pasta in a boiling salted water.

In the meantime, finely chop the onion and cook gently in a frying pan in a  little olive oil until softened. Add the chilli and cook for a further few minutes. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the onion and chilli, tossing them briefly together for a minute or so.

Add the pepper and ricotta sauce, mix everything gently together and leave on the heat for a few minutes to warm through. If it's all looking a bit thick, add some of the pasta water to thin it slightly. When the pasta is al dente, drain and mix everything together well.

Serve with some freshly grated parmesan.

Frittelle di Ricotta - Sweet ricotta fritters

Although I suspect very few people actually do any fasting in the forty days of Lent any more, most of us still follow the tradition on Shrove Tuesday (Martedi Grasso) of using up our 'rich' foods such as eggs, sugar and milk and pancakes are certainly not the only way to do this. In many European countries, various types of doughnuts are a more common way of celebrating: in Madeira they are known as malasada, in Lithuania, spurgos and in Poland they come in the form of jam-filled pączki where a small amount of alcohol is added to the egg-rich dough, preventing the absorption of too much oil when they are fried.

In Italy, in the weeks leading up to Lent, the eggs/sugar/milk combination takes different forms, from chiacchiere (thin ribbons of deep fried pastry) to castagnole (soft, vanilla-scented mini doughnuts), not forgetting the many different types of fritter. Although I'm not wild about fritters in general, these ricotta-based ones are wonderful - light, luscious, bite-sized clouds.

As these pillowy, fragrant frittelle make a perfect end to a meal, I'm sending them over to Kate at the marvellous What Kate Baked as my Tea Time Treats entry. This is the monthly challenge she hosts along with Karen from Lavender and Lovage and this month's theme is Puddings. 


RECIPE

200g ricotta
100g plain flour
2 large eggs
80g caster sugar
zest of one lemon
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

vegetable oil for frying
icing sugar

Put the ricotta in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy. Add all the other ingredients, finishing with the flour. Mix until you have a smooth batter. Leave it for an hour or two.

When you're ready to make the fritters, fill a wide, shallow pan with about 2 cm of oil and heat until a drop of batter sizzles when dropped in.

Fry rounded teaspoons of batter, making sure you don't overcrowd the pan, about 5 at a time is ideal. Quickly flip them over when they are golden brown and leave them to cook for a minute on the other side.

Take them out carefully with a slotted spoon and place on some kitchen towel to absorb some of the grease. Serve straightaway, with icing sugar sprinkled liberally over.