Torta di Ricotta (Ricotta Cake)

I’ll always have Tuscany.

I’ll never forget my culinary travels through Italy in 2006. From Emilia-Romagna to Florence, the ingredients of the land defined what we cooked and ate.

At Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda, one of the rare wineries in Tuscany owned by a woman and staffed by women, I would walk in the vineyards – bursting with dark grapes – with the sun beating on my neck. In the evening we would work with the serious and practical Italian cook in the kitchen to prepare sumptuous, rustic dishes from simple, abundant ingredients – Panzanella (Bread Salad), Zuppa di Trequanda (Swiss Chard and Cabbage Soup with Cannelini Beans), and Schiacciata All’uva (Sweet Focaccia with Wine Grapes). Recipes were effortless to assemble, fed the body and the soul, and tasted exquisite with a glass of Brunello as we dined on the patio of the Osteria and the blazing sun set over the ancient Tuscan hills.

Torta di Ricotta, a feathery Ricotta Cake, always brings back those memories. The ingredients are sheer simplicity – mounds of ricotta cheese, fruity olive oil, lemon zest and brown sugar. It takes only moments to assemble and the creamy texture and sparkling citrus will have you dreaming of a late-summer evening of wine, good food and friends.

Torta di Ricotta (Source: The Silver Spoon)

Butter for the pan
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour; extra for dusting the pan
4 eggs
½ cup light brown sugar; extra for sprinkling
1 ¾ cups ricotta cheese
Grated zest of ½ lemon
5 tablespoons olive oil
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease deep tart pan with butter and dust with flour. Whisk eggs and brown sugar together until light and foamy. Stir in ricotta cheese, lemon zest, olive oil and milk. Shift flour and baking powder over egg mixture, mix well and pour into cake pan. Sprinkle with additional brown sugar. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and turn out. Serves 6.

I’m submitting my Torta di Ricotta to the Festa Italiana event hosted by Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita.

©2008 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

Egg-stacy

Spring is reluctant in the Northeast. Daffodils and crocus shiver and symbols of new life struggle to be seen and heard, yet eggs are abundant in my kitchen as preparations for Easter commence.

The egg is legendary and full of wonder, a miracle in a translucent oval shell. Egyptians thought their deity created the egg from the sun and the moon, and Phoenicians told a story that an egg split in two at the beginning of time to form heaven and earth. The egg is a symbol of renewal and rebirth in the Christian faith, consumed devotedly during the Easter season and used to decorate traditional Easter breads and confections throughout Europe.

Made of 14 percent protein with abundant vitamins and minerals, the egg is often described as “incredible,” and frequently referred to as the perfect food. Eggs are friends to bakers and chefs, and are ubiquitous within the kitchen lending viscosity to sauces, golden hue to pasta and custards, richness and luster to breads and extraordinary rise to cakes and soufflés.

On a cold and almost wintry Sunday, my Easter Brunch celebrates pastoral flavors and aromas and the renewal we long all for. Throughout, the egg offers its miraculous nourishment to our gathering and our spirits.




A Sparkling Pear n’ Cranberry Cocktail tickles the nose with the luscious nectar of pears and sparkling wine and a sweet, woodsy whiff of Rosemary.





Mom brings Carrot Salad, vivid with raisins and crunchy sunflower seeds, in honor of that floppy rabbit associated with this day.




French Toast “Eiderdown” with Herbs & Bacon from “Michael Roux Eggs” is a vibrant rite of spring, a kitchen garden of fresh eggs, tarragon, and chives, bursting with soft golden layers of bread, nutty cheeses and herbaceous vitality. The eight eggs give the “eiderdown” a vivacious lift from the center of the baking dish.





With four eggs, The Ricotta Cake is creamy but still light, perfumed with just a hint of fruity olive oil and tangy lemon zest.

Hope springs eternal and what chef lacks hope when he has a basket of fresh eggs close at hand?

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Sources:
Michael Roux Eggs
Food Lover’s Companion, Third Edition, Sharon Tyler Herbst
Larousse Gastronomic

© 2007 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved