Baked Ricotta Cheese

Manuela Darling-Gansser authored a beautiful Italian Cookbook last year called Four Seasons: A Year of Italian Food. 

I would buy the cookbook just for the pictures – they are in fact stunning - but also discovered that the receipes were nothing short of amazing.

Take this baked ricotta. Made with whole-milk (not reduced fat) ricotta, this easy cheese spread is paired with just a few other ingredients and baked until golden brown. It’s so easy in fact it takes 10 minutes to mix and about 30 minutes to bake.

You can serve this with a simple, freshly baked Tomato Focaccia while the cheese is still warm or with an Antipasta platter with the cheese slightly cold.

I’m really hooked on this recipe and have put it in my file of keepers. After all, who doesn’t love an Italian cheese spread that is this easy and Parmigiano-Reggiano is my all time favorite!

Bon Appetit!

Baked Ricotta

Recipe by Manuela Darling-Gansser 

Butter to coat the baking dish

16 ounces fresh whole-milk ricotta

2 eggs

3-4 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fresh Oregano leaves, finely chopped

1 chile, seeded and thinly sliced

Salt and Fresh ground Pepper, to taste 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 2 cup baking dish or use two 8 ounce Le Creuset baking dishes. 

Beat all the ingredients in a bowl with a fork until well combined. Then pour into the baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes until browned and puffy.

Remove from the oven. Let cool and serve.