Cooking Instructions
- 1. If ricotta is watery, drain in a colander lined with a clean linen towel or cheese cloth for a half hour or more.
- 2.Preheat oven to 400°F
- 3. In a medium bowl whip eggs, salt and pepper with an electric mixer or whisk, add ricotta cheese and continue to whip until well mixed.
- 4.Fold in remainder of cheese base ingredients.
- 5.Transfer cheese mixture to an oiled baking dish. Ideally you want the cheese to be an inch or less thick to start off. Cheese base will puff as is bakes, so choose a dish that can accommodate another half inch for puffing and toppings. Pictured here is a 9-inch round dish.
- 6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top; time will depend on how watery your ricotta is and the size of the dish.
- 7. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top; time will depend on how watery your ricotta is and the size of the dish.
- 8. While baking, harvest mushrooms, any mushrooms will work. Cut into bite-size chunks.
- 9.Sauteé mushrooms on low in butter with salt and pepper. When mushrooms are nearing the end of cooking (most water has evaporated), add the sliced shallot or ramps and continue to cook until everything is nicely browned.
- 10.Top cheese base with sauteed mushrooms and serve with crusty bread slices, pita wedges or crackers.
Ingredients for ricotta cheese base
- 16 oz fresh whole milk ricotta
- 2 large eggs well beaten
- ¼ cup grated parmigiana
- ¼ cup grated mozzarella
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 Tbs. parsley leaves finely chopped
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes reconstituted and chopped
- pinch of salt and pepper
Ingredients for Mushroom Topping
- Mushrooms (plucked straight from an Everything Mushrooms kit)
- 1 Stick of butter
- A few ramps or 1 shallot thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
