Ricotta | All Things Sicilian and more

MAKING RICOTTA, Paneer or curd cheese

I think I have fallen in love with rich Jersey milk.

It is so easy to make the curds to make ricotta.

All it takes is full cream milk and some lemon juice. The only other things you’ll need are a slotted spoon and a colander lined with cheese cloth (muslin) to strain the curds.

You may have a ricotta basket handy – if you buy ricotta it is often sold in a plastic basket and you can use it to drain the curds and shape the ricotta.

A slotted spoon will be handy to gently scoop out the curds.

Making ricotta is very simple.

I used 3 litres of milk, two lemons and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Bring the milk almost to a simmer on medium heat, add some salt and wait till little bubbles form close to the edge of the pot before you add the lemon juice; stir it in gently. The milk should separate into clumps of curds, and the whey will be thin and watery. If not enough of the milk has separated, reheat it and add a little bit more lemon juice and once again stir it gently. Once it has separated leave it undisturbed for about 10 minutes; stirring will make the curds dense.

Gently scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon – do not pour – into a large ricotta basket or a colander lined with cheese cloth that you have placed over a bowl to catch the whey.

A culinary specialty and a way of serving ricotta in Sicily (especially in the Ragusa region) is to ladle the curds with the whey into a bowl and to eat it with a spoon and bread.

** See post, A visit to Massaro, link below.

How long you let the curds drain or how firmly you press them down will determine how solid the curds will be. If the curds are too solid you may need some whey to mix back into the curds. But if you think of how many recipes suggest that you drain the ricotta before using it for making cannoli, cassata, frittata, ravioli, baked ricotta, ricotta salata, scacce, having firm ricotta is advantageous.

There are many recipes using ricotta on my blog that can easily be found by using the search button.

Traditionally, ricotta is made by heating the left-over whey from other cheese-making. The curds are worked to make and shape cheeses like mozzarella, trecce, fior di latte, bocconcini, and reheating the whey produces the fine-grained curd that traditionally makes ricotta – ri-cotta, translated as re-cooked/twice cooked. Usually more rich milk is added to the whey to make a full cream ricotta.

The curds can also be formed to make quark, cottage cheese and paneer. When I make paneer I do not add salt to the milk and I drain the curds or press them for longer.

however, the three links below are about making ricotta. The photo above is how ricotta is shaped and sold in Sicily .

SICILIAN CHEESE MAKING. A VISIT TO A MASSARO (farmer-cheese maker) IN RAGUSA.

RICOTTA how to make it (using rennet)

RICOTTA and FRIED PEPPERS (Peperoni fritti). The Butter Factory at Myrtleford

The whey has many uses especially for baking. My partner bakes bread, flatbreads and cracker biscuits). I have not yet used whey for marinating meat, but I do braise pork in milk – a Bolognese specialty. The milk separates and forms a caramel when heated slowly at a low temperature for a few hours. I will write a recipe for this in my next post.

SPRING IN TUSCANY

There are four of us staying in Castiglione della Pescaia in the Maremma, Southern Tuscany, and for the first time, there is sunshine and some evidence of Spring.

We have enjoyed 6 cloudy, cool days in Tuscany so far and there is evidence of spring produce that I enjoyed cooking.

8CB31DBB-5E32-4D1A-B9CE-B58D02D5E6F5 — Spring artichokes produce: artichokes, zucchini with blossoms attached and on the far right are bread beans.

The local shop that seem to stock all of the produce we ever needed.

E8EFFB79-A15C-490D-872F-9B561511654F — The local potter.

Other produce that seem to be in Tuscany no matter what season was Boar (cinghiale).

There were a wide range of Cinghiale salumi (smallgoods) in restaurants and produce stores.

But there are many other old spring favourites. For example the buds of the wild garlic. It is called Aglione. In Tuscany these tender shoots are considered a delicacy and are often cooked gently with olive oil, salt and tomato, or added to frittatas.

Aglione is a variety of giant Tuscan garlic (Allium ampeloprasum var. holmense), sometimes compared and called elephant garlic. It has a mild aroma and sweet flavour. The fiore dell’aglione refers to the long green stems and flowering tops (scapes) that are removed so the bulbs can grow larger. Like the bulb itself, they have a delicate, slightly sweet flavour and are easy to digest

0F2F3EF1-8B5E-4C6A-B0D2-A40620487BA5 — These are fiore dell’aglione – the long green stems and flowering tops.

The makings of a frittata with the garlic flowers, asparagus, zucchini flowers and baby zucchini:

Amazing bread:

Unfortunately it has rained again and my friends and I are doubly saddened by the weather and because of the devastating results of the Australian elections.

We bought sardines and collected wild herbs. I pan-fried the sardines. They cooked quickly and we had them with a squeeze of lemon.

We collected the wild herb called nepitella that grows in crevices and I added them to mushrooms.

This was out antipasto. The ricotta and the cheese are made with a black coloured sheep specific to the Maremma region.

We travelled to many parts of Tuscany during our nearly three week stay and ate extremely well in eateries, restaurants and home.

CASTAGNACCIO (A Tuscan sweetened bread made with chestnut flour)

STUFFED BAKED MUSHROOMS with Nepitella

A SAVOURY COEUR À LA CRÈME to accompany a summer fresh tomato salad or summer vegetables

It is summer and time to celebrate good tomatoes and a good tomato salad is a perfect way to accompany a savoury coeur à la crème.

I like making tomato salads like my parents used to make – with tomatoes, celery, fresh onion, basil or oregano, salt and good extra virgin olive oil.

And as the mood takes me, I sometimes like to accompany a tomato salad with one of the following simple dairy trimmings, like: bocconcini or mozzarella, treccia, ricotta, straciatella , burrata or marinaded feta or a panna cotta made with feta or gorgonzola.

Cœur à la crème with a tomato salad to accompany and decorate it

Including the protein makes an excellent starter …..or as my parents did – eat a tomato salad with ricotta or bocconcini for lunch almost every day of summer.

I was in Gippsland yesterday and visited Bassine; they make a range of cheeses on the premises.

I have been there before and have purchased various cheeses, but yesterday I came home with some quark and thought that would experiment and make a savoury coeur à la crème.

Coeur à la crème is usually served with berries but I thought that I could accompany my savoury coeur à la crème with a tomato salad. Alternatively roasted (or charred) peppers or slow roasted baby tomatoes would also be great… or fried red peppers (peperonata) or lightly sautéed zucchini and mint could be terrific…I could go on.

Mould to drain and shape Mould to drain and shape the Cœur à la crème.the Coeur a la creme

You need muslin and a mold or container that allows drainage. I used a traditional ceramic, heart shape dish for making a coeur à la crème, but any container that is perforated with holes to drain off the excess moisture of the cheese or a colander can be used as an alternative.

I used the following ingredients:

INGREDIENTS

250 gm each quark, 1 cup of Greek yogurt, 100g of marinaded feta, fresh thyme leaves ground pink peppercorns, 1 peeled clove of garlic, ½ cup pf milk, ½ cup good quality olive oil.

PROCESSES

In a small sauce pan warm the milk over low heat. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes and then strain out.

Combine cheeses and yogurt – you want the mixture fairly smooth so use a food processor or work it with a spoon.

Add the thyme, ground pink peppercorns and infused milk.

Line the mould with muslin (enough to cover the mold) and sprinkle with olive oil.

Put cheese mixture into the mold, sprinkle with more olive oil and cover it with the left over muslin.

Place the mold into a container or tray to catch the whey (liquid that drains away). Stand overnight in the fridge.

Carefully turn the mold out onto a serving plate.

Serve with a tomato salad or anything thing else that catches your fancy.

Next time I make a ‘Coeur,’ I may try ricotta and herbs – no feta, no yogurt.

The tomato salad to place on top of the Coeur

Recipes of summer vegetables:

PEPERONATA – PIPIRONATA (Sicilian) Braised peppers

FRIED ZUCCHINI – ZUCCHINE FRITTE (Zucchini are called CUCUZZEDDI in Sicilian)

PUMARORU CA CIPUDDA (Tomatoes with onions). INSALATA DI POMODORO (Tomato salad)

PEPPERS WITH BREADCRUMBS- PIPI CA MUDDICA – PEPERONI CON LA MOLLICA

ANTIPASTO – GRILLED SUMMER VEGETABLES AND A SCOOP OF SALADS

BURRATA, MOZARELLA, STRACCIATELLA

Coeur a la Crème made with Labneh

9CDC4924-2ABA-4AF6-82EF-19FC37BD4EAE — Summer produce – peppers used to make Peperonata

STUFFED BAKED FENNEL WITH PANGRATTATO – FINOCCHI RIPIENI

This is a recipe for a stuffed baked fennel. Breadcrumbs are called Pangrattato (grated bread) in Italian.

DEFINITION OF PAN GRATTATO and its use.

Mollica is the soft part of the bread with crusts removed but in the culinary world both pangrattato and mollica have acquired new significances and have been enhanced. Both refer to breadcrumbs lightly toasted in in olive oil, herbs and seasonings and variations include anything from garlic, red pepper flakes, pine nuts, anchovies, lemon zest , cinnamon or nutmeg, salt and a little sugar.

Mollica or pangrattato adds texture, fragrance and complex flavours and is usually used as a stuffing or topping, especially for pasta in Calabria, Puglia and Sicily. For example, Pasta con le Sarde and Sarde a Beccafico are two Sicilian recipes that use enhanced breadcrumbs:

When I make pangrattato I store left overs in a jar in my fridge and use it to enhance other dishes: this time I used it to stuff fennel.

STUFFED FENNEL RECIPE

I use Pangrattato to stuff fennel.

For moisture and extra flavour I added a little ricotta and a little grated cheese – pecorino or parmigiano.

PROCESS

Cut the stems off the fennel and remove the toughest and usually damaged outer leaves.
Cut the fennel into quarters.
Cook the fennel in salted water, bay leaves salt and lemon juice for about 10 minutes until it is slightly softened. Remove it from the liquid and cool.
Make the filling: Work the ricotta in a bowl with a fork, mix in the pangrattato and grated cheese.
Prise open the leaves of the fennel and stuff with the pangrattato stuffing.
Place the quarters into a baking bowl that allows them to stay compact and upright (like when you are cooking stuffed artichokes).
Drizzle olive oil on top (or a little butter) and bake at 180 – 190°C for about 15 minutes

SPAGHETTI with PRAWNS and ZUCCHINI

SPAGHETTI with ‘NDUJA, SQUID, VONGOLE AND PAN GRATTATO

PASTA CON LE SARDE – an iconic Sicilian recipe from Palermo. Cooked at Slow Food Festival Melbourne

PASTA CON SARDE – the baked version, Palermo, Sicily

SARDE A BECCAFICO (Sardines stuffed with currants, pine nuts, sugar and nutmeg)

RICOTTA, TOMATOES and Basil. A perfect summer dish.

Summer is the season for ricotta, tomatoes and basil. When tomatoes are sweet and fragrant, and basil is growing abundantly, very little else is needed to create a memorable dish.

One of the pleasures of eating out is returning home inspired to cook my own version of something I have enjoyed. Often it is not only the flavours that stay with me, but also the presentation.

That happened after a meal at Gauge in Brisbane. Among the dishes my friends and I shared was Cow’s ricotta, sansho pepper, heirloom tomatoes and olive. It was beautifully balanced, elegant in its simplicity, and it immediately sparked ideas.

In summer, my parents who lived in Adelaide enjoyed a tomato salad almost every day. The salad was accompanied by fresh cheeses purchased from their local cheese factory, including ricotta, Formaggio Fresco, Bocconcini, Mozzarella and Ricotta salata. Occasionally, the ricotta was still warm.

The tomato salad with Asian herbs in Brisbane – *Cow’s ricotta, sansho pepper, heirloom tomatoes and olive.*

The Magic of Fresh Herbs

The restaurant used an Asian herb, but what fascinated me most was how easily the character of the dish could be changed simply by choosing a different herb.

Each herb brings its own personality. Thyme adds warmth, oregano and sweet marjoram a Mediterranean fragrance, tarragon a gentle aniseed note, dill freshness, while the many varieties of basil available today each contribute something different. The ingredients remain the same, yet the flavour changes completely.

That flexibility is one of the pleasures of cooking.

A Summer Favourite at Home

The evening after I returned from Brisbane I was cooking for friends. I had excellent tomatoes, fresh cow’s ricotta and an abundance of basil growing on my balcony. The inspiration from Brisbane became my own version.

Presentation mattered almost as much as flavour. My photographs do not quite capture how attractive the dish looked, but it was fresh, colourful and full of natural flavours. Served with good bread or crisp crackers, it made a perfect summer starter.

Recreating the Dish

The restaurant’s version was:

Cow’s ricotta, sansho pepper, heirloom tomatoes and olive.

The ricotta and heirloom tomatoes were easy enough to source.

Sansho pepper (also known as Japanese pepper) has a distinctive citrus freshness, reminiscent of lemon myrtle. It is readily available from many Asian grocers, but there are plenty of alternatives. I enjoy experimenting with different peppercorns and with dried Mexican chillies that I grind fresh. Some are smoky, some earthy, some fruity and others wonderfully hot.

On this occasion I chose pink peppercorns. They added gentle spice, subtle sweetness and looked beautiful against the white ricotta.

The basil oil, pink peppercorns, fresh small leaf basil and tomatoes

Olives — Or Just Their Flavour?

Interestingly, the restaurant did not use whole olives. Instead, the olive flavour came from black olive salt.

More recently I have seen another restaurant use dehydrated olives, which provide an intense burst of flavour and wonderful texture.

For my version, whole olives felt too dominant, so I scattered over a few tiny capers instead. They added the salty contrast I wanted while keeping the presentation delicate. Small leaves of Greek basil completed the dish.

A Sicilian Touch

I also added finely sliced spring onion for freshness.

Next time I may include one of those tender pale-green inner celery stalks, finely sliced. In my family, tomato salads always included onion and celery — the traditional Sicilian way of preparing them. It is a combination I still love.

Bringing Everything Together

I whipped fresh cow’s ricotta with a little salt until smooth and creamy.

The basil oil was simply good-quality extra virgin olive oil blended with basil leaves picked from my balcony and a pinch of salt.

The tomatoes came, as they often do, from one of my trusted fruit and vegetable stallholders at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market. Starting with excellent produce is what makes a dish like this shine.

With good bread and a glass of chilled wine, it was everything I want from summer cooking: simple, fresh and full of flavour.

Basil growing on my balcony- 2 varieties

TOMATO SALAD WITH GORGONZOLA (INSALATA DI POMODORI E GORGONZOLA)

A SAVOURY COEUR À LA CRÈME to accompany a summer fresh tomato salad or summer vegetables

RICOTTA how to make it

Coeur a la Crème made with Labneh

Labneh and Coeur à la Crème may come from different culinary traditions, but they have one thing in common—they transform simple yoghurt into an elegant dessert.

Labneh, the Middle Eastern strained yoghurt cheese, has become a permanent fixture in my refrigerator. It is wonderfully versatile: delicious as part of a savoury meal, spread on bread or served with olive oil and herbs, but equally at home in desserts where its fresh, slightly tangy flavour balances sweetness beautifully.

One of my favourite ways to use it is in Coeur à la Crème, the classic French dessert whose name translates as heart of cream. Traditionally made with fresh cream cheese and cream, it is equally delicious prepared with homemade labneh, giving it a lighter texture and a delicate yoghurt flavour.

Homemade labneh is simply Greek yoghurt strained until thick, creamy and spreadable.

Labneh – A Staple in My Kitchen

When I first began making labneh many years ago, it was still relatively unfamiliar outside Middle Eastern communities. Today it has become much more widely appreciated, reflecting the way Australia’s multicultural food culture has embraced ingredients from around the world.

Ten years ago I would have said that Italians would not have known about Labneh, but Italian cooks have also discovered labneh, although it is more commonly served as a savoury dish dressed simply with extra virgin olive oil and herbs or spices such as mint, parsley, fennel seeds or paprika.

In Australia because of our multi-cultural population we are more familiar with Labneh and with the spices we use.

Labneh, served as a savoury dish dressed simply with extra virgin olive oil and herbs , a herb dressing or sprinkled with spices such as mint, parsley, fennel seeds or paprika

I enjoy Labneh both in savoury dishes, but I particularly like using it in desserts.

Making Homemade Labneh

Labneh is simply Greek yoghurt that has been strained until much of the whey has drained away, producing a soft cheese with a consistency somewhere between thick yoghurt and cream cheese.

For the best results I buy full-fat Greek-style yoghurt with no added sugar or flavourings. I look for labels such as pot set, live and active cultures, organic or biodynamic. Good yoghurt produces good labneh.

Ingredients

1 kg full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
Muslin (cheesecloth)
Colander
Bowl

Method

Line a colander with a single layer of muslin and place it over a bowl.

Spoon the yoghurt into the muslin, cover and refrigerate for 6–8 hours, or overnight if you prefer a firmer texture.

The whey will slowly drain into the bowl below. Different yoghurts release different amounts of liquid depending on their water content. From 1 kg of yoghurt I generally obtain around 820 g of labneh.

Store the finished labneh wrapped in the muslin in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. It will continue to firm slightly as it drains.

After several hours of draining, the yoghurt transforms into rich, silky labneh

Coeur à la Crème

This simple dessert combines the freshness of labneh with cream cheese, ricotta or cream to create a smooth, luxurious filling.

Ingredients

700 g labneh
250 g cream cheese or ricotta, or 200 ml double cream
100 g pure icing sugar or honey (adjust to taste)
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean, or good-quality vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Method

Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.

Mix briefly by hand, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the sweetness if necessary.

A traditional Coeur à la Crème mould is heart-shaped with a perforated base that allows any remaining liquid to drain. If you do not own one, a heart-shaped cake tin lined with muslin works well. You may simply need to pour off the drained liquid occasionally. See Photos below.

Line the mould with muslin, spoon in the mixture and smooth the surface.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

To serve, invert onto a serving plate and carefully remove the muslin.

Fresh seasonal fruit, poached fruit or fruit lightly macerated with a splash of liqueur all make excellent accompaniments.

Blood Orange Topping

Blood oranges are one of my favourite winter fruits, and their vibrant colour makes a beautiful contrast to the creamy white dessert.

Ingredients

4 blood oranges
3 tablespoons honey
2–4 tablespoons orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
Fresh mint (optional)

Method

Working over a bowl to catch the juice, remove all peel and pith from the oranges. Cut between the membranes to release the segments.

Heat the honey with 1 tablespoon of water until lightly caramelised.

Add the orange segments and reserved juice and cook gently for 4–5 minutes.

Stir in the orange liqueur and allow the fruit to cool completely before chilling.

Serve the chilled oranges around the Coeur à la Crème and garnish with fresh mint if desired.

This is an elegant dessert that looks impressive yet is surprisingly easy to prepare. Better still, it can be made a day ahead, leaving only the fruit to finish before serving.

MOLDS

Coeur a la crème is made in a heart shaped special mold with a perforated bottom that allows the mixture to drain and compact properly.

A heart shaped baking tin lined with muslin will also keep draining but you will need to remove the liquid more often.

The Final Dessert

WATERMELON, LABNEH and DUKKAH salad

LABNEH and Watermelon salad

HOME MADE MASCARPONE

A QUICK PASTA DISH for Spring: artichokes, asparagus, peas

Enjoy the fresh flavours of spring with this simple pasta dish that celebrates the season’s freshest vegetables: tender artichokes, crisp asparagus, and sweet peas – the colours and flavours as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. You can use broadbeans if you are fortunate in finding produce that has not been harvested when the pods are too mature. It the beans are too big, you will need to peel off the outer layer.

The pictures tell the story.

I use good quality pasta and sometimes interesting shapes. On this occasion I used Croxetti, the flat medallions from Liguria, and my guests enjoyed it; they are in the shape of flat medallions and usually stamped with a decorative design. And of course, any short pasta will do!

Use this sauce made with Spring vegetables as a dressing for the cooked pasta.

Begin by preparing your main ingredient: the artichokes. Strip away the tough outer leaves, then slice them vertically into thin slices. Rub the cut surfaces with lemon to keep them from browning. Don’t overlook the stalks; remove their fibrous skin and slice the tender heart into thin rounds.

Strip the fibrous covering off the artichoke stalks and slice the remaining centre of the stalk into thin slices. To do this, cut off the very end of the stem and then strip the covering or use a paring knife to cut off the covering – expect the covering to be thick.

Asparagus is a springtime staple, and once you’ve snapped off the tough ends, slice the remaining stalks thinly, allowing them to cook evenly.

Asparagus are prolific in Spring. Once the tough bottom end of each asparagus is snapped off and discarded, slice the remaining stalks thinly as they will need more cooking than the top end of the asparagus.

In a saucepan, heat a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, then sauté the artichokes and stalks until they begin to soften. Add a splash of white wine and a bit of stock, cover, and let them braise until tender. Set aside.

Next, bring in the spring onions and sauté them in the same pan until fragrant. Toss in the asparagus and your choice of peas or broad beans, adding a pinch of salt, pepper, and a hint of sugar to enhance the sweetness. For best results, cook in batches to avoid overcrowding.

Once everything is just tender, return the artichokes to the pan, stirring in a dollop of butter and a dash of grated nutmeg. Finish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley or basil for a burst of extra colour, freshness, and flavour.

Dress the cooked pasta to the spring vegetable sauce. For a creamy touch, top it off with a generous dollop of ricotta or grated Parmesan.

Fennel can also be added – consider adding sautéed slices for an extra layer of taste, texture and fragrance.

Enjoy the flavours of spring!

Artichokes are called Carciofi in Italian and there are several recipes on my blog:

ARTICHOKES and how we love them; CAPONATA DI CARCIOFI

SPRING PICNIC; Frittata with artichokes and asparagus

PASTA ALLA FAVORITA (Pasta with artichokes, broad beans, peas alla favorita)

I LOVE ARTICHOKES

*Use the search button to find more recipes about Carciofi/ Artichokes

JEWELS OF SICILY: A celebration of SPRING

Spring in Sicily is welcomed ‘big time’ and spring produce is embraced.

Sicilians make a fuss about the preparation and eating of seasonal spring produce: asparagus, artichokes, broad beans, fennel and ricotta. It is the time when the island comes alive – flowers bloom, vines sprout and vegetables ripen.

The menu at Waratah Hills Vineyard was a celebration of Spring, and all who attended the class enjoyed all of that produce and the occasion in such a beautiful vineyard.

We ate local garfish rolled around a Sicilian stuffing (commonly used for sardines called Beccafico), stuffed artichokes and a pasta with a dressing made from sautéed spring vegetables, moistened with wine and stock and topped with nutmeg and creamy ricotta.

We drank excellent, matching wines with each course and used local, extra virgin olive oil made by Judy and Neil’s (proprietors of Waratah Hills Vineyard and organizers of this event) neighbours .

Cassata of course was the final culinary jewel; I coated it with not-too-sweet marzipan…..and I have my tongue out in anticipation…(I do not know what I was saying!)

A few dressed Sicilian Green olives at the start did not go astray (garlic, orange rind, chilli flakes, wild fennel fronds, bay leaves, extra virgin olive oil) and a fennel and orange salad as a palate cleanser eaten after the fish was a good choice .

Thank you to all those eager and friendly people who made the event a success.

Waratah Hills Vineyard Wines:

http://waratahhills.com.au/buy-online/

RICOTTA RAVIOLI and STONE GROUND FLOUR

RAVIOLI DI RICOTTA e MULINO DI CEREALI A PIETRA

Ricotta ravioli and stone ground flour in Chiaramonte, South Eastern Sicily

This is Franco the miller who mills cereali a pietra – in other words he produces stone-ground flour from high quality wheat from ancient strains. He and his partner have an old water mill and they are experimenting with reviving old strains of wheat – so far so good! And there are farmers who are growing the old strains and buyers who are supporting it. Many of them are restaurateurs who are making pasta and bread in their restaurants.

The area of Sicily where this is happening is Chiaramonte Gulfi– I am so impressed and interested in what is happening in this south-eastern part of Sicily (see post about Massimiliano the Butcher).

The grain smelt wonderful and watching the stones grinding and the sifting process was an amazing experience. The flour needs to be kept in cool conditions or used quickly as it does not have any additives or bleaches, the germ of the wheat is maintained in the milling – flour that is good for us in other words.

Franco does not waste the by-products. The bran is sold as animal fodder and he has customers and supporters who are interested in using the finer bran in baking. We sampled some bran biscuits produced by one of his followers.

The photo below is of the water powered mechanism to power the grinding of the wheat.

There was another reason why I was interested in this mill and that is that my grandparents in Ragusa used to have an old water mill down by the river at the bottom of Ragusa Ibla. It no longer functioned as a mill and they used it as their get-away from the city, especially in the summer months, and grew their herbs and vegetables there. Being a regular visitor to Ragusa as a child I loved the mill (we travelled from Trieste and visited my grandparents each summer for two months each year).

I bought some of Franco’s flour home to my aunt, Zia Niluzza, who lives in Ragusa and still makes pasta by hand on special occasions. My visit this time was the special occasion and she produced her exceptionally good, traditional ricotta ravioli that are a specialty of this area of Sicily.

The ravioli di ricotta from Ragusa are usually served with a strong sugo (meat and a tomato-based sauce) made with pork meat and pork sausages. In Ragusa they add a little sugar (1 teaspoon per cup of ricotta; other local variations are to include a little orange peel or finely cut fresh sweet marjoram (Maggiorana). This herb is not common in Sicily but where it is used in Italian cooking it is added to delicate dishes.

My aunt also made her special gnochetti. Rather than eating one kind of pasta at a time, we piled both ravioli and pasta into the one plate and helped ourselves to more sugo – but I noticed that she now uses less pork and I did not detect any pork rind in this sugo. Rind is also a common additive in this part of Sicily. Even old school Sicilians are all health conscious these days. I did however note that she adds lard to certain pastries!

For the ravioli you will need fresh pasta sheets and strong sugo made with meat tomatoes and tomato paste.

Make the ravioli:
The most authentic and quickest way to cut the ravioli is by hand. There is no prescribed size – they can be either round or square (about 7cm/3in across) or half-moon shaped (a 9cm/4in circle folded over).

To make individual ravioli, cut pasta into circles or squares. Place heaped teaspoons of stuffing in the centre of each, continuing until all the stuffing is used. For half-moon shapes fold the pasta over the filling. For others, lay another circle or square on top, then moisten the edges with a little water and
press together carefully to seal properly (press hard on the edges and spread the pasta to a single thickness, so they cook evenly).

Set the finished ravioli on a lightly floured cloth. They can rest in a cool place for up two hours.

To make more than one raviolo at a time:
Cut the pasta into long rectangular strips about 9cm wide. Place heaped teaspoons of stuffing about 5 cm apart (beginning about 2cm/.in from the margin of the sheet). Cover with another strip of pasta of the same size.
Cut each raviolo free with a knife or serrated pasta wheel. Repeat the process, until all the pasta and the stuffing is used up.

Cooking:
Cook ravioli as you would any pasta. Lower them into the water a few at a time and scoop each out when it floats to the surface.
Dress them carefully with the sauce so as not to break.

My Zia Niluzza, an exceptional cook.

RICOTTA and FRIED PEPPERS (Peperoni fritti). The Butter Factory at Myrtleford

Her name is Naomi and she is very skilled at what she does. But Naomi wishes to expand her expertise and she is travelling to Europe in the near future.

She is a champion butter maker at The Butter Factory at Myrtleford, a restored historic building. She sources the cream locally and the butter is hand-made. And I admire her even more because she did it the hard way, first by helping her mother to set the place up, developing her trade and by finding the abandoned, rusty machinery in various old sheds and paddocks and having it reconditioned – she has a cooling, a heating and a separating machine and all three work a treat.

Naomi also makes pure buttermilk and has been making small quantities of ricotta with buttermilk. She sells her produce locally from The Butter Factory and at Victorian farmers markets – driving from Myrtleford to markets in Melbourne on weekends after a hard week takes some determination. She intends to pursue her ricotta making skills and wishes to try smoking some of her ricotta soon.

Her Mother Bronwyn Ingleton cooks on the same premises – I sampled some of her cooking recently in the cafe and judging from the number of customers eating her food, I am not the only one to enjoy it.

When I first discovered Naomi’s produce, I discussed in a previous post eating the slightly sour tasting ricotta with poached figs. This time I presented the ricotta as an antipasto with fried red peppers, the long, banana shaped variety which Italians fry (I bought these from a grower in Myrtleford). The red coloured peppers are sweeter, but when you buy them ask if they are hot – they often are, and in this case could overshadow the delicate taste of the ricotta.

INGREDIENTS

red, banana peppers (I used just over 1 kilo)

extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup or more

wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon

sugar, ¾ tablespoon

salt to taste

PROCESSES
Cut the peppers lengthwise in half, remove the seeds and ribs and cut into strips.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan (don’t crowd them or they will stew), add the peppers and fry on high heat. Toss them about often to prevent burning.
Add salt and once softened and when they begin to brown, add vinegar and let evaporate.
Add a pinch of sugar and stir gently for about 1 minute.

The peppers are presented at room temperature with the ricotta.

http://www.thebutterfactory.com.au/

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Tag: Ricotta

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