I seemed to have a lot of ricotta and lemons lying around and I've always loved the combination of the two. And muffins are a big hit in our house and pretty quick to whip up, so I went on a search for something to bring all these together.
I found this recipe for Giada DeLaurentiis that she bakes in a muffin tin but has the texture of a biscuit. I made some tweaks to fit the ingredients I had and it was delicious.
Keep in mind that the batter is much thicker than one for muffins and it won't rise as much as a muffin while it bakes, so you can fill the tin up almost to the top.
These taste heavenly warm, with some butter or jam.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
zest from two lemons
1 cup ricotta (if you don't have quite enough, you can use some plain yogurt in place)
1 large egg
freshly squeezed lemon juice from one lemon
splash of vanilla
Directions:
1. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Next beat in the egg, lemon juice and vanilla.
4. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).
5. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp of sugar.
6. Bake until the muffins become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes.
7. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Showing posts with label ricotta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ricotta. Show all posts
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Monday, April 2, 2018
Baci di Ricotta (from Nigella Lawson)
When the image for these "ricotta kisses" came up in my Instagram feed, I saved it and knew I'd be returning to it. Easter weekend provided me with the perfect opportunity to make this lovely dessert.
I did a trial run the night before for my family and the kids ate them all up! So I doubled the recipe to make for our family Easter get together. I received many compliments and this recipe will become one of my go-to's. It was fast and easy to put together; the only downside is the time spent frying the batter, but really it is so worth it. They taste great the next day as well; if they get soggy put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again (but really they taste great either way)!
This recipe makes about 30 balls and the recipe can easily be doubled.
Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
vegetable oil or corn oil for frying
2 tsp icing sugar
Directions:
1. Beat the ricotta and eggs until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.
2. Fill a wide, shallow pan with about 1" of oil. Heat the pan until a small bit of batter sizzles when dropped into the oil.
3. Drop rounded teaspoons of the ricotta batter into the pan, about six at a time. In her recipe, Nigella says not to make them too big or fry too many at a time, and this is a good piece of advice. The batter will puff up when cooking and they fry up pretty quickly. As they turn golden brown, flip them over and leave for a minute or so on the other side.
4. Place the cooked baci di ricotta on paper towels to remove someof the oil. Pile the balls onto a plate in a pyramid shape and sprinkle with a thick layer of icing sugar They taste best eaten right away!
Original recipe can be found here: Nigella's Baci di Ricotta
I did a trial run the night before for my family and the kids ate them all up! So I doubled the recipe to make for our family Easter get together. I received many compliments and this recipe will become one of my go-to's. It was fast and easy to put together; the only downside is the time spent frying the batter, but really it is so worth it. They taste great the next day as well; if they get soggy put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again (but really they taste great either way)!
This recipe makes about 30 balls and the recipe can easily be doubled.
Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
vegetable oil or corn oil for frying
2 tsp icing sugar
Directions:
1. Beat the ricotta and eggs until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.
2. Fill a wide, shallow pan with about 1" of oil. Heat the pan until a small bit of batter sizzles when dropped into the oil.
3. Drop rounded teaspoons of the ricotta batter into the pan, about six at a time. In her recipe, Nigella says not to make them too big or fry too many at a time, and this is a good piece of advice. The batter will puff up when cooking and they fry up pretty quickly. As they turn golden brown, flip them over and leave for a minute or so on the other side.
4. Place the cooked baci di ricotta on paper towels to remove someof the oil. Pile the balls onto a plate in a pyramid shape and sprinkle with a thick layer of icing sugar They taste best eaten right away!
Original recipe can be found here: Nigella's Baci di Ricotta
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Stuffed Zucchini Flowers (Fiori di Zucca)
I love zucchini flowers. My Nonna used to make them when my Nonno picked them from the garden. She would make a batter, dip them, fry them and sprinkle them with sugar. When I recently asked her why she doesn't make them anymore her response was, "They don't turn out so good...." So I asked her if they had any in the garden because I wanted to try making them. Nonno went out and came back with three large zucchini. "She wants the flowers!!" Nonna shouts in Italian. He's not sure if there is any, but he went out to look anyways. And he came back with about a dozen. I have seen a lot of recipes for stuffed zucchini flowers so that's what I wanted to try!
When preparing the flowers, make sure you take out the yellow stamen inside and cut off the stem (if necessary). You don't need to wash them, but it doesn't hurt to wipe them with a damp paper towel if they look a little dirty. Be gentle when you open them as you need them to stay in tact in order to be stuffed. Some of the smaller ones or ones I couldn't stuff, I simply dipped in the same batter, fried them and sprinkled them with sugar like my Nonna does!
Ingredients:
12 zucchini blossoms, ready to be stuffed
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1.5 tsp garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves minced garlic)
2 tsp basil, or about 4 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup & 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cold water
1 tbsp lemon juice
oil for frying (vegetable, canola or coconut - I used a combo of vegetable and coconut)
1. Mix together the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, basil, garlic and salt. Continue mixing until it has a smooth consistency. Using a freezer bag, place the mixture into it and cut off the corner to make a piping bag. Do this just before you are ready to stuff the flowers.
2. Add the lemon juice to the water and give it a quick stir. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and lemon water.
3. Meanwhile heat the oil over medium heat. You will need a large pan with a couple of inches of oil so the whole flower can fry.
4. Gently pipe about 1-2 tbsp (depending on the flower size) of the ricotta filling into the flowers. The large flowers will swell up as they are filled. Twist the top of the petals together to close and seal the flowers.
5. Test the oil by dropping in some batter. If it's hot enough it will sizzle and rise to the top. Dip each flower into the batter one at a time. Hold the flower by the top where you twisted the petals. Make sure it is totally covered in batter and let the excess batter drip off.
6. Gently lower the flower into the hot oil. Cook until the flowers are crispy, about 2-3 minutes. If the whole flower isn't covered in the oil, turn it over part way through. Fry the flowers in small batches depending on the size of your pan.
7. Remove the flowers with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet with a paper towels. Keep the stuffed flowers warm in a low oven while the others are being fried. They taste best when they're fresh, but can easily be warmed up again in the oven at a later time.
When preparing the flowers, make sure you take out the yellow stamen inside and cut off the stem (if necessary). You don't need to wash them, but it doesn't hurt to wipe them with a damp paper towel if they look a little dirty. Be gentle when you open them as you need them to stay in tact in order to be stuffed. Some of the smaller ones or ones I couldn't stuff, I simply dipped in the same batter, fried them and sprinkled them with sugar like my Nonna does!
Ingredients:
12 zucchini blossoms, ready to be stuffed
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1.5 tsp garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves minced garlic)
2 tsp basil, or about 4 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup & 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cold water
1 tbsp lemon juice
oil for frying (vegetable, canola or coconut - I used a combo of vegetable and coconut)
1. Mix together the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, basil, garlic and salt. Continue mixing until it has a smooth consistency. Using a freezer bag, place the mixture into it and cut off the corner to make a piping bag. Do this just before you are ready to stuff the flowers.
2. Add the lemon juice to the water and give it a quick stir. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and lemon water.
3. Meanwhile heat the oil over medium heat. You will need a large pan with a couple of inches of oil so the whole flower can fry.
4. Gently pipe about 1-2 tbsp (depending on the flower size) of the ricotta filling into the flowers. The large flowers will swell up as they are filled. Twist the top of the petals together to close and seal the flowers.
5. Test the oil by dropping in some batter. If it's hot enough it will sizzle and rise to the top. Dip each flower into the batter one at a time. Hold the flower by the top where you twisted the petals. Make sure it is totally covered in batter and let the excess batter drip off.
6. Gently lower the flower into the hot oil. Cook until the flowers are crispy, about 2-3 minutes. If the whole flower isn't covered in the oil, turn it over part way through. Fry the flowers in small batches depending on the size of your pan.
7. Remove the flowers with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet with a paper towels. Keep the stuffed flowers warm in a low oven while the others are being fried. They taste best when they're fresh, but can easily be warmed up again in the oven at a later time.
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