I Love Ricotta!

Photo:  Copyright 2011, Jacapo Pandolfini

I love to bake cakes, pies and cookies.  It's relaxing, and  the house smells good!  Today I've found an exquisite fresh ‘ricotta,’ a soft cheese made with sheep milk.  Ricotta is a very light and versatile cheese.  It can be used for both sweet and salty recipes. 

I’m giving you the recipe I improvised, with chocolate chips  and candied orange slices.

The basic ingredients are pasta frolla (a dough made with flour, butter, eggs and sugar) and soft cheese.  Use your imagination to create your own version, adding fresh fruit, raisins, nuts . . . whatever you like.

TORTA DI RICOTTA

Pasta frolla:

 1 cup flour

 3 tablespoons sugar

A pinch of salt

7 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 egg, beaten

A pinch of grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a bowl, combine flour and sugar.  Make a hole, like a volcano, in the mixture.  Add the egg to the center.  Add butter, and stir with a wooden spoon.  Add salt and lemon zest. Working with your hands, make a dough.

     Cover the dough with a linen towel, and wait 30 minutes. Then, work the dough with a rolling pin until flat.  Shape it and place the dough on a buttered baking tin.

 For the top:

1 cup fresh ricotta or soft cheese, not salted

3 tabespoons sugar

Some chocolate chips

Orange jam

Candied oranges to garnish

 Preheat oven to 350°

Combine sugar, ricotta and chocolate chips.  Pour the mixture on the pasta frolla shell.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Garnish the torta with a thin layer of orange jam and candied slices.

Sweet wines like Porto, Passito or Moscato are perfect with this pie.