Polenta And Ricotta Cheese Cake Recipes

ALMOND RICOTTA CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Prep equipment: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place a round of parchment paper on the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan or springform pan. Lightly grease the paper and sides of the pan with butter and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar: Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Beat in egg yolks: Add the egg yolks and beat on medium speed until combined.
• Add wet ingredients: Add ricotta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract and almond extract, if using, and beat until combined.
• Add dry ingredients: Add almond flour and salt to the ricotta mixture. Fold together with a spatula until no pockets of almond flour remain and the batter is smooth. The batter will be slightly thick. Do not be alarmed if it looks a bit curdled.
• Beat egg whites: Thoroughly wash and dry the beaters. In a medium bowl (or the same bowl you used to separate the eggs), beat the egg whites on medium speed to soft peaks, about 3 minutes.
• Fold in egg whites: Stir ⅓ of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Then, gently fold the remaining egg whites in with a spatula until just combined. The batter should be evenly moistened with no streak of egg whites remaining. Do not overmix.
• Pour into cake pan: Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and sprinkle the top with sliced almonds, pressing them down slightly into the batter, so they stick.
• Bake: Bake for 50 minutes, or until the edges of the cake are golden brown and the top is a light golden brown. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely about 1 hour.
• Serve: To serve, run a knife around the cake to loosen it. If using a springform pan, release the sides of the pan. If using a cake pan, gently flip the cake onto a plate, peel away the parchment, then flip it back over onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, if preferred. Slice into wedges and enjoy!

BAKED POLENTA WITH RICOTTA AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Soak polenta in cold water for 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drain polenta, then place in a heavy-bottomed pot or ovenproof baking dish. Add salt and 4 cups water.
• Place pot in oven, cover, and bake for 45 minutes. (The polenta will begin to simmer and absorb water after a few minutes. No need to stir.)
• After 45 minutes, uncover and stir in the olive oil, ricotta and Parmesan, but don't overmix. Some of the ricotta should remain in big blobs. The mixture may be a bit soupy at this point, but will thicken as it continues to cook. Bake, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until top has browned. Finish with a generous amount of pepper.

BAKED POLENTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• To prepare the tomato sauce:
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the tomatoes, yellow onion, and garlic in a baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until the garlic is soft and the skin is peeling away from the tomatoes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and put in a saucepan. Squeeze the garlic out of the bulb and into the tomatoes. Remove the skin from the onion. Coarsely chop the onion and add to the tomatoes.
• Add the olive oil to the tomatoes and puree with a handheld immersion blender until smooth. You may need to add up to 1/3 cup water if there is not enough liquid. Season with salt. Warm the tomato sauce just prior to use.
• To prepare the polenta:
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a simmer and stream in the polenta. Whisk together until there are no lumps. Cover with a lid and continue to cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Be careful when you go to stir the polenta-it tends to spit out pieces of the cornmeal, which is very hot. Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the olive oil and basil. Drop in teaspoon-size pieces of the ricotta cheese. Pour the polenta into an 8-inch square baking pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and let sit for 1 hour or until the polenta has firmed up. Bake the polenta in the oven for 15 minutes or until heated through. Cut the polenta into 8 equal pieces.
• To serve:
• Place 1/2 cup warm tomato sauce in 4 shallow bowls and top with two pieces of the polenta. Sprinkle with the chopped basil.

POLENTA LASAGNA WITH SPINACH AND HERBY RICOTTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees and butter an 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet pan. Grease a rubber spatula with butter.
• Prepare the polenta: In a large pot, bring 6 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, then slowly pour in polenta, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking often, until polenta thickens, 8 to 12 minutes. Whisk in 4 tablespoons butter until melted. Whisk in spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in 1 cup grated Parmesan.
• Scrape polenta onto the prepared baking sheet. Using the greased rubber spatula, spread the mixture into a thin, even layer to cover the entire pan, all the way to corners. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated Parmesan on top. Bake until polenta is firm and cheese has melted, 12 to 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack until completely cooled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or place in refrigerator until cool to touch, about 40 to 50 minutes. (Polenta can be baked the day before and refrigerated until needed.)
• When ready to bake the lasagna, heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Prepare the ricotta filling: In a small bowl, mix ricotta, parsley, basil, egg, black pepper, nutmeg and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until well combined and set aside.
• Taste the marinara sauce. If it needs some zip, stir in any or all of the optional ingredients.
• Assemble the lasagna: Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut cooled polenta in half widthwise, creating 2 pieces roughly 9 by 13 inches each. Using a large spatula, gently place one half in prepared baking dish. (It is important for polenta to be completely cooled and firm; otherwise, the pieces may break when transferring to baking dish. If anything breaks, just reassemble it in the pan. It won't make much of a difference once it's covered in sauce and baked.)
• Spread about half the ricotta mixture in an even layer on top of polenta. Pour about half of marinara sauce on top of ricotta, sprinkle with about half of the shredded mozzarella. Repeat with remaining polenta, ricotta, marinara and mozzarella. Once assembled, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan on top.
• Place baking dish on top of a rimmed sheet pan in case the lasagna bubbles over. Bake until cheese melts, about 30 minutes. If you like, you can broil lasagna for 2 minutes after baking until cheese starts to bubble and develop brown spots.
• Remove from oven and let lasagna stand for about 15 minutes to firm up before serving. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

POLENTA AL FORNO WITH SPINACH, RICOTTA AND FONTINA

Steps:

• Blanch spinach briefly in a large pot of boiling water, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Squeeze all excess moisture from spinach and roughly chop.
• In a large bowl, combine chopped spinach and ricotta. Season with salt and pepper, then add cayenne, lemon zest, half the Parmesan and all but 2 tablespoons of the fontina and stir well.
• Butter a 9- by 12-inch casserole dish. Ladle in half of the warm, soft polenta and spread with a spatula to make a thin layer. Spoon spinach mixture evenly over it. Top with remaining soft polenta and spread to smooth the surface. (May be made ahead up to this point, then covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.)
• Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and fontina. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

MAKE-AHEAD POLENTA WITH GREEN ONIONS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) broiler-proof baking dish with cooking spray. (Do not use a glass baking dish if you want to broil the ricotta topping; glass baking dishes can break under the broiler.)
• In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add green onions; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add milk, water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt; heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
• Still over medium heat, slowly add cornmeal, stirring constantly with whisk until mixture thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. (If mixture starts to bubble and spatter, reduce heat to medium-low.) Remove from heat. Stir in pepper, Parmesan cheese and half of the chives. If desired, taste and adjust seasonings.
• Pour into baking dish; spread evenly. Cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Cover loosely with foil; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• For ricotta topping, in medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining half of the chives and the eggs. Cover; refrigerate until ready to use. (This can also be made a day ahead or the day of.)
• Heat oven to 400°F. Spread ricotta topping evenly over top of polenta.
• Bake about 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (If using a broiler-proof dish and you'd like to brown the top, you can set it under the broiler for a few minutes.) Cool slightly before serving.