Ideas for using really good ricotta

April 23, 2024 2:32 PM

I find myself with 24 oz. of really good ricotta and I'd like to make a few dishes to highlight it. Typically I'd use ricotta in something that drowns it in tomato sauce, and that's not what I'm going for here. I have a robust pantry, a Meyer lemon tree in the back yard that's still producing, access to Spring produce at the farmers' market, and many grocery stores nearby. Open to savory and/or sweet. Assume no dietary restrictions. What should I make?
posted by rhiannonstone to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

Ricotta Cherry Mousse
posted by olopua at 2:44 PM on April 23

Best answer: I love pasta with a ricotta sauce. Ricotta, a drop of milk to loosen it, a handful of parmegianno-reggiano, some black pepper, and a big handful of finely chopped parsley is a wonderful adult take on mac and cheese. You could even hit it with a little bit of lemon zest from that tree, and top it with whatever is very young, green, and fresh at the farmer's market.
posted by entropone at 3:06 PM on April 23 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Baked stuffed shells. Mix Meyer lemon zest into the ricotta stuffing and some petite green peas, sauté a pile of thinly sliced leeks and mix in meyer lemon juice and lots of good olive oil, minced garlic, and your preferred tender green herbs (chives and mint would be nice) and sauce the stuffed shells with it, bake until the leeks get a little bit crispy on top.
posted by Mizu at 3:09 PM on April 23 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Variation on the pasta theme, I'll use a food processor to blend green peas (+ salt, pepper, olive oil, a small bit of ricotta), use that to top fettuccine, and put a healthy dollop of ricotta on top of that with a drizzle of high quality olive oil. In your case this would definitely allow for an encounter with the ricotta on its own terms.
posted by wormtales at 3:10 PM on April 23

Best answer: Really good bread, toasted, spread with ricotta, maybe some salt and pepper, add honey and roasted almonds. (or any other great permutation of ricotta toast, maybe lemon/mint/snap peas?).

Ricotta with berries.
posted by vunder at 3:20 PM on April 23

Best answer: I like to make pizza with ricotta (mixed with a little olive oil, parm and a fresh herb like thyme) and mushrooms or potato on top — and nothing else.

A pile of ricotta surrounded by grilled or roasted vegetables, topped with some olive oil and nuts and served with bread toasted in olive oil is a great summer dish.
posted by ssg at 3:41 PM on April 23 [2 favorites]

Another surprisingly excellent ricotta toast is ricotta, honey, and fresh thyme.
posted by redfoxtail at 3:44 PM on April 23 [3 favorites]

Zucchini involtini. So so good and easy!
posted by sucre at 3:56 PM on April 23

Best answer: Charred Spring Peas and Ricotta Bowl. SOOOOO good. Basically just yummy bread with some dressed spring veggies over a heaping pile of ricotta. It is one of my favorite dishes, and with high quality ricotta I'm sure it's even better.
posted by misskaz at 4:03 PM on April 23 [3 favorites]

Ice. Cream.
posted by Dashy at 4:36 PM on April 23

Best answer: Make a spring savory galette with a ricotta + herb + lemon substrate and your favorite spring veggies like asparagus, peas, and pea sprouts on top.

Toast some baguette slices, the add ricotta + your best farmers market fruit + a drizzle of olive oil or honey + a pinch of flakey salt and/or grind of pepper. I’ve usually done this in the fall and used persimmons, but cherries, strawberries, or rhubarb compote should work, too. Or if you want to skip the fruit, prosciutto.
posted by A Blue Moon at 4:41 PM on April 23 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This lemon ricotta pasta from the NYT is good.
posted by fern at 5:59 PM on April 23

Make gnudi (Link to serious eats). A bit fiddely but so good.
posted by 15L06 at 1:34 AM on April 24

I love ricotta gnocchi. Add a few egg yolks, a few gratings of nutmeg if you have any, grated pecorino and/or parmigiano, and enough flour to turn it into a soft and mildly sticky dough. Only knead enough to bring it together, as you don’t want to develop the gluten very much. Roll into finger-thick snakes in plenty of flour, cut into little pillows and lightly push your finger into each one to make a little dent (if you like, do this while it’s resting on the back of a fork to make some little ridges). Put into copious boiling water while you have a nearby wide pan with your condiment of choice (brown butter and sage, butter with lemon juice/zest and capers, Marcella Hazan’s tomato/butter sauce, pesto loosened with some water, whatever). As the gnocchi float to the surface of the water, scoop them out and transfer to the pan with the sauce and toss through. Throw in parsley and/or basil and/or grated cheese as/if appropriate, serve and eat immediately.
posted by slkinsey at 4:21 AM on April 24

Ricotta pie
posted by briank at 8:06 AM on April 24

Seadas
posted by mumimor at 6:04 AM on April 25

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I marked the ones I've already used or am planning to use in the near future as Best Answer, but they're all great suggestions.

I ended up having to go out of town before I'd used it all up, so I whipped the rest with a little cream and lemon and gave it to my friends, who used it for strawberry dutch baby pancakes -- another thing to add to my list! :)
posted by rhiannonstone at 2:32 PM on May 12