The Chameleon Cheese

A couple of weeks ago, I tried out a very simple recipe from my trusty Caldesi cookbook entitled solely 'Ricotta al forno' (Baked Ricotta). Basically all you need do is plonk the cheese on an oiled baking tray, stud it all over with chopped herbs and seasoning of your choice and shove it in the oven for 45-60 minutes at 180 degrees.  Katie also recommended serving it with her 'Sugo di peperoni rossi' (roasted red pepper sauce) which true to her word, made a fantastic accompaniment and also served a dual purpose as an alternative topping for the bruschetta we had  made.

Pre-forno

Post-forno

 I chose to encrust my ricotta with parsley and sage which was an agreeable combination and got me thinking about the endless possibilities for different flavour combinations with this dish. Being who I am, my thoughts jumped straight to a sweet version using nuts to replace the herbs. My first invention was a classic coffee and walnut mixture, with chopped walnuts adorning the ricotta and a coffee caramel sauce to accompany it. Somewhat over extravagantly I topped this with flecks of dark chocolate resulting in an extremely rich overall effect. Luckily a night spent ruminating in the fridge like an overexcited child on the naughty step toned it down slightly making it a lot less cloying and giving the ricotta time to absorb some of the coffee, adding a lot more depth.

The second recipe I came up with was in contrast a much lighter and refreshing take on it,  taking inspiration from a successful rose and pistachio panna cotta I made last summer. So, having smothered the ricotta with  chopped pistachios, I went about reducing some Marsala, to which I then added sliced strawberries and a couple of tablespoons of honey to form a sauce. This one not only satisfied my taste buds perfectly but also appealed to my recent Masterchef-induced quest for more aesthetically pleasing presentation, something you can see from the above photos, is not really my forte. Vaguely symmetrical, with pretty colours and a contrast of textures, my vanity was satiated with the fruitier ricotta. As is excruciatingly obvious in the images below, mine still looks awfully clumsy compared to the real deal. Alas, I think that this is just a fact that I am condemned to live with as I am far too gluttonous to be minimalist with my sauce distribution.

My creation

Masterchef creation (as if it needed pointing out)

Moving on swiftly, and running with the theme of nuts, fruit and alcohol (because it works), I'm already envisioning 'Baked ricotta with ground cardamom and a mango and tequila coulis'  for my next experiment. Mango and Cardamom, like last year's rose and pistachio combination, has its roots in India, and is a flavour combination that I fell in love with whilst working for my Dad making mango lassies at festivals. I couldn't get enough of the creamy drink then and I'm hoping that a dash of tequila will give it a nice twist.

 To be continued...