Still finalizing your Easter menu? Or maybe, like me, you’re a guest and need to bring something. To that end, I’ve gathered some of my favorite ricotta recipes for right now. I associate ricotta with spring because Italians do, and I’m Italian at heart. Cows, goats and sheep are gorging on spring grass, so there’s lots of milk for cheesemaking and plenty of whey—a byproduct—for fresh ricotta. I’ll be making caramel ricotta flan because I can prepare it ahead and transport it. For a shared antipasto, consider a ricotta board (super trendy) with prosciutto and fava beans. The twisty star bread stuffed with ricotta and feta is a certified drama queen. And if, like me, you think the best part of cannoli is the filling—well, have I got a dessert for you.
For best results with all these recipes, use whole-milk ricotta.
Bring a warm, pull-apart Star Bread to the table, and you’ll impress the heck out of people. I’m an infrequent bread baker, so if I can do it, you can. It’s way easier than it looks, and you can watch the video for guidance.
If you blinked, you probably missed the Instagram butter board trend. Now the influencers have moved on to ricotta boards—which is more up my alley, of course. Channel your inner artist and make a masterpiece with whipped ricotta and the toppings you like. Prosciutto, fava beans and green olives are one winning combination, but you do you.
Like Montalbano, my favorite Sicilian detective, I dream of cannoli. But to be honest, what I really like is the filling, that luscious cloud of ricotta, chopped chocolate, pistachios and candied orange. My fluffy ricotta mousse is basically cannoli without the shell. Serve in a glass compote dish or stemless wine glass with a crisp cookie.
Now that tasty strawberries are making an appearance, consider this Almond Macaroon Torte with Ricotta Cream for your Easter finale. Make it a few hours ahead so the crunchy macaroon layers soak up the berry juices. Then you can slice the torte like a cake.
Michele Scicolone’s silky caramel ricotta flan is the love child of crème caramel and cheesecake. If you make it a day ahead, you’ll get more caramel out of the cup when you invert it.
I already confessed to a cannoli fixation, so no surprise that cannoli ice cream tops my flavor list. Typically, I can take or leave ice cream…but not this one.