Ricotta. Baked Buffalo Ricotta cheese

Baked Buffalo Ricotta. Baking ricotta turns it into a simple but truly creamy delicious way to eat cheese. It’s so easy and a cheap way to serve a warm cheesy snack. You can jump straight to the recipe.

I still love ricotta and buy it all the time. I found this Buffalo Milk Ricotta. Buffalo Milk cheese is in high demand in restaurants. Our buffalo industry for producing milk and cheese, is growing faster than they can keep up. Some milk is produced here from smallish herds and the rest is imported to make some of the cheeses here.

Did you know this about buffalo milk?

• 58% more calcium than cows milk
• 40% more protein than cows milk
• 43% less cholesterol than cows milk

I like facts, but really I am more interested in what it tastes like, and I can tell you it is far more creamy and white than cows milk ricotta. Buffalo milk is higher in milk solids and so the whey used to cook the ricotta is creamier, producing a smooth almost blancmange textured cheese. I wanted to compliment the texture and flavour of this cheese by keeping it very simple. I have made some Lebanese bread crisps, baked the ricotta with basil and tomatoes.

Ricotta cheese love from way back

Once upon a time, I lived in a tent in the lakes district of England. This campsite home was just outside Staveley near Lake Windermere. Mostly it is not fun living in a tent but to complicate this I also worked in a tent. I was a rep for a travel company and it was my job to feed and house mostly Australian and New Zealand coach passengers. When I say house, I mean the tent accommodation provided to them,  was often thrown into the creek by angry wind snarls. After re-pitching and cleaning, I provided both lunch and dinner cooked in the cook tent over large gas burners, with trestle tables for benches and boiled water and plastic bowls for washing up!

During my time in the Lakes District, I drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of fish and chips, introducing tour groups to the local goodies. Consequently, I gained a lot of weight. To remedy this growing problem I became acquainted with the local ricotta cheese. There are a number of Artisan cheese producers in this area, and the ricotta was beautiful. I wrote an article for the local paper, The Westmorland  Gazette, about what makes ricotta so delicious to eat and added recipes. This made absolutely no difference to my weight loss program.

This recipe uses Buffalo Ricotta. Try and get your hands on some. if you can’t then just use full cream ricotta from the deli section of the supermarket. Never buy ricotta in a plastic tub, it just is not creamy and smooth. You can buy a nice pesto if you like, but I will include a recipe for Basil Pesto below.

Looking for more Ricotta recipes?

Baked Ricotta with chocolate and honied figs

Baked Ricotta with Mushrooms, tomato and basil

Lemon Ricotta cake

Find the recipe and video for Lebanese Crisps

Baked Buffalo Ricotta

Baked ricotta is delicious. You can make this recipe with creamy buffalo ricotta or with any other ricotta you have. Buffalo Ricotta a creamier richer version of ricotta that is very special. Find it at speciality cheese stores

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 250 gm Buffalo Ricotta enough for 2-4 people as a snack

Pesto Ingredients

• 1 bunch basil leaves only, about 2 cups
• 1/2 bunch parsley flat leaf
• 50 gm pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 150 gm parmesan grated fresh
• 150 ml Olive Oil
• 20 ml lemon juice 1 tablespoon (add more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Roasted Tomatoes

• 100 gm cherry tomatoes or about 12
• 20 ml olive oil 1 tablespoon
• 20 ml balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon
• 30 gm parmesan cheese fresh grated

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat the oven to 170 C / 340 F. You'll need Ricotta, muffin papers, a texan muffin tray, I served this with Lebanese crispbread. These are so good, but you will need to make these first

To make the pesto

• Place the garlic and nuts in the food processor first and add the parsley and basil on top. Process to break down the leaves a bit first.
• Gradually add the oil in a thin, steady stream and process until you have a smooth paste. Season with plenty of salt and the lemon juice
• Don't be affraid to add more lemon and salt if the paste tastes a bit flat
• Store in an airtight jar (with a layer of olive oil covering pesto), in the fridge for 5 days

To bake the ricotta

• Spoon the ricotta onto a large muffin paper or a lined small round mould. You need to use something with sides as the ricotta will get soft in the oven while baking. You can also use baking paper that has been folded to fit the muffin tin or mold you are using. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of pesto onto the top of the ricotta. Set aside for 2 minutes
• Toss the tomatoes in 1 Tablespoon of each balsamic and olive oil, and salt and pepper. Put them into some of the empty holes in the muffin trays. ( to save on washing up). or just on the side of the tray you are using to bake your cheese
• Bake the cheese and tomatoes for approx 20 minutes. The oil in the pesto will start to separate and the tomatoes will be soft but not mushy.
• Cool and turn out the ricotta onto a plate topping with tomatoes, parmesan and extra pinenuts if you have them
• Serve this with Lebanese crispbread. Find the recipe in the link above
• Cut Lebanese bread into pieces separating the layers of bread. Toss the bread pieces in olive oil and salt, not too much oil. Rub the pieces around the bowl and together and then put onto a baking tray and bake until crisp and golden.

Notes

A Texan muffin tray is an extra large muffin tray.

You can bake ricotta in a tiny cake tin a ceramic ramekin or anything you have that is oven proof.

These are great served with extra pesto and my baked Lebanese crispbread

 Find Buffalo Ricotta in good Deli’s or cheese stores or at Paesanella in Marrickville, if you are in Sydney.  Now made in Queensland Victoria and New South Wales