Ricotta Cheese

[JC Drake]

I have a whole carton in the refrigerator and have no idea what to make with it, besides lasagna. Any suggestions?

 

[Cantw8]

How about baked ziti???

 

[JennyMominRI]

I have a whole carton in the refrigerator and have no idea what to make with it, besides lasagna. Any suggestions?

Baked Ziti, Stuffed Shells..Stuffed Manicotti

 

[CathrynRose]

Cannoli filling! '

Then make a cake and use it as the center filling.

 

[theycallmered]

Go to www.kraftfoods.com and type in ricotta cheese into the ingrediant section. You will recieve a ton of different ideas of what to with the cheese.

My vote would be for canolli. Mmmm.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

My wife has an awesome recipe for ricotta stuffed eggplant!!

 

[bekkiz]

I like it on pizza, in little dollups.

This is going to sound gross, but I swear on all that is holy, it is SO SO good. If you mix a spoonful of ricotta with a spoonful of almond butter (or peanut, if that's what you have) and a 1/2 spoonful of orange marmalade and put it on toast or an english muffin....it is the BEST breakfast.

Ricotta also makes great fluffy pancakes
RICOTTA PANCAKES
"The Monaco Hotel in Denver has a restaurant, Panzano, that’s so good I went back several times during my stay," says Cindy Maciag of Troy, Michigan. "The ricotta pancakes at breakfast were fantastic."

4 large eggs, separated
2 cups ricotta cheese
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups whole milk
Melted butter
Maple syrup



Whisk yolks, ricotta and sour cream in large bowl to blend. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in another large bowl to blend. Add flour mixture to yolk mixture and stir until combined. Stir in milk. Using electric mixer, beat whites in another large bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold beaten whites into batter. Heat griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Brush with butter. Working in batches, spoon 2 tablespoons batter onto griddle for each pancake. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Serve with maple syrup.

Makes about 40 small pancakes.
Bon Appétit
R.S.V.P.
August 2000
Panzano at The Monaco Hotel, Denver, CO

I've also made these and liked them quite a bit
Cherry-Vanilla Ricotta Muffins

Recipe By : posted by Terrytx at cl bb
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Muffins

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
nonstick cooking spray
2 cups unbleached all-purpose
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar -- (1/2 to 2/3)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (1/2 atick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups cherries (fresh or frozen, undefrosted),
pitted and sliced or 1 cup dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 8 standard (2 1/2-inch-diameter) muffin cups with nonstick spray.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest, and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Place the ricotta in a second medium-sized bowl, and beat in the buttermilk. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with a medium-sized whisk after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour the ricotta mixture, along with the melted butter and the cherries, into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or a rubber spatula, stir from the bottom of the bowl until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Don't overmix; a few lumps are okay.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. For smaller muffins, fill the cups about four-fifths full. For larger muffins, fill them up to the top. If you have extra batter, spray one or two additional muffin cups with nonstick spray and fill with the remaining batter.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (The baking time will be slightly longer if you are using frozen cherries, as they give off more liquid.) Remove the pan from the oven, the remove each muffin from the pan and place on a rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.

Source:
"Sunlight Cafe"

NOTES : Variations:
Lemon Ricotta Muffins: In step 2, use up to 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest. Decrease the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon, and omit the cherries.

Poppy Seed Ricotta Muffins: Add to the dry mixture in step 2, 1/4 cup poppy seeds. Omit the cherries. You will get a slightly lower yield with this variation.

NOTES : Canola oil can be substituted for some or all of the butter. Can sub soy protein powder for up to half the flour. Can sub WW pastry flour for the all-purpose.

 

[Melisa1]

I'm not a fan of ricotta - I would pitch it!

 

[JC Drake]

Some good recipes to try out - Thanks!

 

[SwedishMeatball]

Spinach-Cheese Pasta Casserole

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked pasta shells
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 jar (26 ounces) marinara sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Preparation

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 1-1/2-quart round casserole with nonstick cooking spray.
2) Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain.
3) Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl until blended. Add ricotta and spinach to eggs; stir until blended. Stir in pasta, marinara sauce and salt until pasta is well coated. Pour into prepared dish. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over casserole.
4) Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until hot and bubbly.

 

[Rootskate]

My wife has an awesome recipe for ricotta stuffed eggplant!!

That sounds fantastic! Would she post the recipe??

 

[laurajetter]

Man, you guys are good! I just copied down some of those recipes for myself!

I second the dollops of ricotta on pizza - delish! And also canoli filling, with extra chocolate chips!

 

[LBAK]

Eggplant rollitini, calzones...yummmm!

 

[NEM]

Simple Butternut Squash Tart

I used a whole puff pastry....since it is what came in the box and doubled the filling....

You can make this in a pan or free form, one big one, or multiple
smaller ones. I had caramelized onions left over from a previous
recipe so I used them in the ricotta - don't be afraid to experiment
with seasonal ingredients. You could even sweeten up the ricotta a bit
when summer comes around and do a stone fruit or berry version.

It is easy to scale the ricotta filling in this recipe for use in
different sized pans or multiple tarts. Use 1 cup ricotta to 1 egg.

1 package of puff pastry dough
zest of one lemon

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg plus one egg yolk
1/2 cup caramelized onions
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

10 very thin (1/8-inch) slices of butternut squash (I cut rounds from
the neck of the squash), pre-cook them in a bit of olive oil in a
covered pan for 2-3 minutes before using them on the tart

6 - 10 very thin slices of goat cheese
pepper

Preheat oven to 375.

Thaw the puff pastry dough. Put it out on a lightly floured counter
top and roll it out a bit thinner - roughly 1/8-inch. Be sure to roll
it to fit your tart pan if you are using one (again, you can make this
tart free form w/ no pan if you like). Leave about an inch worth of
edges draped over the pan (you will need to fold this back in over the
filling later. Prick the dough in the middle of the tart a few times
with the tines of a fork, and sprinkle most of the lemon zest right
onto the rolled-out dough.

In a small bowl mix the ricotta, one egg, onions and salt together.
Spread the ricotta mixture onto the base of the tart. Don't go quite
all the way to the edge, it makes it hard to fold the edges over
later. Arrange the slices of squash on top, and the slices of goat
cheese on top of the squash.

Fold the edges of the pastry back in toward the filling (an inch or
so). Brush the pastry with the egg yolk and bake for 30-35 minutes or
until tart shell is golden and the filling has set.

Serve warm, cut into small slices (it is quite rich) sprinkled with
any remaining lemon zest and a bit of pepper (I used red peppercorns
this time around).

 

[barkley]

i have a batch of this stuff in the fridge right now-

(this is the quicky version with non homemade pasta sauce)-

take a couple of jars of spagetti sauce and warm in a large pan on stove top, meanwhile cook up penne or rigatonni. when the pasta is cooked and drained blend it in the pan with the pasta sauce and add the ricotta (spoonfulls), some shredded mozzerella-and if you have it on hand, sliced black olives and chopped up artichoke hearts (i get the canned or frozen plain type-not the ones in oil/vinegar). blend until the cheese is all goey.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

That sounds fantastic! Would she post the recipe??

Basically the dish is alot like stuffed shells, only instead on using pasta shells, you broil 1/2" slices of eggplant (cut long ways-top to bottom) on both sides until lightly browned and soft (just a couple minutes each side). You allow them to cool and roll a dollop of ricotta into the and lay them in a baking dish and cover them with your favorite tomato sauce. My wife makes hers with fresh tomatoes (peeled and seeded), garlic, basil, salt and pepper. You sprinkle it with a little parmigiano cheese and bake it until done (lightly browned on top) . It's really good and totally easy! One large eggplant easily serves two with leftovers.

 

[Rootskate]

Basically the dish is alot like stuffed shells, only instead on using pasta shells, you broil 1/2" slices of eggplant (cut long ways-top to bottom) on both sides until lightly browned and soft (just a couple minutes each side). You allow them to cool and roll a dollop of ricotta into the and lay them in a baking dish and cover them with your favorite tomato sauce. My wife makes hers with fresh tomatoes (peeled and seeded), garlic, basil, salt and pepper. You sprinkle it with a little parmigiano cheese and bake it until done (lightly browned on top) . It's really good and totally easy! One large eggplant easily serves two with leftovers.

Thank you so much for posting that. I am definitely going to try it!

 

[mickeyfan2]

Ricotta Cake

 

[lulu71]

I sometimes throw some in my red gravy to make it creamier.

 

[thewishfire]

My family (most of it anyway) is Italian... I've never had a fridge without ricotta in it! Ricotta pie, stuffed shells, baked ziti, manicotti, white pie (I just can't bring myself to say pizza in this situation)... or just plain eat it with macaroni and gravy (don't think I'm talking about brown turkey-type gravy. I mean sauce!) The possibilities are endless.