Shameless self-promotion . . .
One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest. We are currently 23 out of 308 photos. You can vote by clicking here.
Remember a 10 is good!
*smile*
Ricotta is not technically a cheese, rather it is the by product of the cheese-making process. In Tuscany it is most often manufactured from the whey left over from the making of the region's famous pecorino. This tart has a light crust (pasta frolla) which is the typical pastry dough used throughout Italy. It is slightly sweet, almost like a cookie dough.
The recipe is originally from the Williams-Sonoma book Savouring Tuscany by Lori de Mori. It calls for raisins but I decided to use some wild blueberries instead.
Pastry
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp salt
1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk
Filling
1/3 cup blueberries
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
To make the pastry, in a large bowl mound the flour and make a well in the centre. Add the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt. In a small bowl, using a fork, beat the egg and egg yolk. Pour the egg mixture into the 'well'. Mix the ingredients with a fork until combined. Dust your hands with flour and knead the dough briefly int he bowl until it forms a ball.
Flatten the ball into a disk, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for an hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly butter a 9 inch spring form pan, then dust with flour. Tap out the excess flour into the sink.
In a bowl beat together the ricotta, eggs, and sugar using an electric mixer. Add the flour, blueberries, lemon zest, and vanilla. Stir to mix. Set the filling aside.
On a floured surface roll out the dough into an 11-inch disk. Drape the dough over the spring form pan, pressing it into the bottom and sides.
Pour the ricotta mixture into the lined pan. Trim he edges of the dough, then crimp lightly to form a decorative rim around the filling.
Bake until the top of the cake is a soft yellow and not quite set in the centre, 30 - 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.
Release the sides of the pan and use a long metal spatula to transfer the tart to a serving plate. Serve at room temperature.
Serves 6
Ok, so guess what I'm making on Saturday?
Perfect comfort food and I am cooking dinner for a good friend who is going through a bad patch, so think this will help cheer her up.
Also think the substitution of blueberries for the raisins is a good one.
Posted by: Robert | September 12, 2007 at 04:39 PM
rob - there is nothing like good food to cheer someone up. Hopefully this will do the trick - it sure would cheer me up! Good luck!
Posted by: Jerry | September 13, 2007 at 05:03 PM