Ricotta: A Love Story. Where to begin? I spent much of my life thinking I disliked ricotta, thanks no doubt to my introduction to it: dining hall lasagna and stuffed shells, whose fillings left me considering it nothing more than a grainy, watery, flavorless paste. Ina Garten and her recipe for homemade ricotta showed me the light, revealing how creamy and fluffy the good stuff can be. And Missy Robbins showed me that whipping ricotta — blending it in a food processor until smooth — can transform it into an entirely different product altogether: a pipable purée, light and smooth, not unlike a creamy, savory frosting. In recent weeks, Laura Vitale, with her recipe for whipped ricotta with honey and pistachios, has made me more smitten with the cheese than I ever imagined. The recipe comes from her latest book, At My Italian Table, and when I first made it, I spooned it onto a platter, then set it on the table while I went out back to grill some bread. When I returned, I found my son sitting in front of it with a spoon. When the bread arrived, the whole family went to town, and before long, it was gone. In the recipe’s intro, Laura writes: “If you don’t feel like making dinner, whip up a batch of this instead and sit on your back porch with some mortadella, charred bread, a bowl of ruffled potato chips, and an ice-cold glass of wine or an Aperol spritz.” Last night, I did nearly this, pairing the ricotta with Laura’s herby roasted tomatoes (see below) and a few olive oil-and-sea salt-topped pizzas. We opened a few tins of sardines and called dinner done. It was a dream, and the whole ensemble made me excited for the warmer months ahead, for arranging vegetables on platters, assembling giant salads, turning the oven off and the grill on, opening tins of fish and jars of olives… and, well, with a platter of creamy cheese by our sides, the possibilities feel endless! PS: I think these 4-Ingredient Balsamic-Roasted Mini Peppers and this no-knead focaccia would be a perfect match for the creamy, dreamy whipped ricotta.
Whipped Ricotta, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients: Crush the pistachios first… … then transfer them to a bowl and without rinsing the food processor, add the ricotta, lemon zest, olive oil, and salt: Purée until smooth: Plop the whipped ricotta into the center of a platter: Then use the back of a spoon to spread it, creating peaks and valleys to catch what will follow: Drizzle with olive oil: Then finish with honey and the chopped pistachios: Serve it aside grilled bread or dipper of choice: Incidentally, I’ve also been making the herby, roasted tomatoes from At My Italian Table… … and I’ve been loving serving the two together: Both recipes come from Laura Vitale’s new book At My Italian Table: 5 from 10 reviews I’ve made a few tiny changes: I didn’t have thyme the first time I made it, and we all loved it, so I’ve never made it with the thyme. I’m sure it would be a delicious addition here if you want to add it. I also have not made it with the garlic — the original recipe calls for such a small amount (1/2 of a small clove) and because I’ve been serving this aside the herby, roasted tomatoes from the same book, the recipe for which calls for a lot of garlic, I’ve left it out here.
