Ricotta Tart Recipes

COURGETTE & RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan. Cook the courgettes for 5 mins until golden around the edges, then remove from the pan and set aside. Mix the ricotta with the eggs, most of the basil, the nutmeg, Parmesan and garlic. Set aside.
• Unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface - roll it out lightly to give an even surface. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and lay the pastry on top.
• Spread the pastry with the ricotta mix, leaving a border of 1cm around the edge, then press the courgette slices into the ricotta. Bring the pastry sides up over the edge of the filling and pinch so that none seeps out the sides.
• Bake for 30 mins until the tart is puffed up and golden. Serve warm, scattered with the remaining basil.

LEMON-RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven 375 degrees. In a food processor, pulse vanilla wafers until finely ground (to yield 2 cups). Add butter and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened.
• Transfer crumb mixture to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake crust until lightly browned and set, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven.
• In clean food processor, blend ricotta, cream cheese, eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon zest and juice until smooth. Pour into hot crust in pan; bake until filling is set and browned in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Just before serving, dust top of tart with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

ITALIAN RICOTTA CHOCOLATE TART RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut ½ cup of cold unsalted butter into 18 small pieces and place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
• In a food processor combine the dry ingredients and pulse a few times.
• Add the cut-up butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse ground meal.
• Add the slightly beaten eggs and the vanilla extract and pulse until the dough comes together.
• Turn out the dough on a lightly floured wooden board and form it into a smooth disc by pressing the dough together.
• Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimal 30 minutes before using it.
• Break (or chop) both the dark and semi-sweet chocolate into little pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl.
• Bring a pot of water to a simmer.
• Set bowl of chocolate over a pot of water. Ensure water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
• When the chocolate is almost completely melted, remove it from heat and stir to finish melting.
• Set aside to cool completely.
• In a large mixing bowl (of a stand mixer) beat the ricotta and orange zest at low speed with the paddle attachment until smooth (about 2 minutes). Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Gradually add the sugar, whipping cream, rum and melted and cooled chocolate. Combine this whole mixture together. Set aside while we roll out the pastry dough.
• Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
• Prepare a 9-inch tart pan by buttering and flouring, or use non-stick spray and set aside.
• Cut off one-third of the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it. We will be using this dough to create the strips for the lattice top.
• Place two-thirds of the dough on a sheet of lightly floured parchment paper. Roll out the dough into a circle that is roughly 2 inches larger in diameter than the tart pan, about ⅜- ¼ inch (approx. ½ cm) thick.
• Transfer the dough to the pan, and gently press it into the sides and bottom. Trim the excess overhang of dough with a knife. Place it in the refrigerator.
• Lightly flour the same sheet of parchment paper. Use the rolling pin to roll out the reserved one-third dough in a 9-10 inch circle. Using a pastry cutter, cut into 10 (¾-inch) strips. Place in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the pasta frolla tart shell from the refrigerator and spoon in the chocolate ricotta filling.
• Spread the filling evenly over the base of the crust with the help of an offset spatula.
• To create a lattice top, remove the pastry strips from the refrigerator and brush each strip with egg wash. Brush the rim of the dough in the tart pan as well.
• Place five strips of dough first in one direction, then in the other. Remove any excess dough with a knife. Refer to the photo in the article for more details.
• Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the center filling is set.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Optional: Dust with icing sugar and/or serve with sweet ricotta.

SAVORY RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Brush the bottom of a springform pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Cook and stir bread crumbs and 1 tablespoon olive oil together in a skillet over medium heat until breadcrumbs are light golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into breadcrumbs; cook and stir until golden brown and toasted, about 1 minute more. Spread breadcrumbs out into the bottom of the prepared springform pan.
• Beat eggs in a bowl with a whisk until pale yellow, thick, and frothy. Add basil, parsley, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg; stir to combine.
• Whisk ricotta cheese and 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into egg mixture. Drop cheese mixture by spoonfuls into the prepared springform pan and spread it evenly over breadcrumbs. Gently tap the pan against a work surface to settle the cheese layer. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a paring knife around the side to release tart from springform pan. Cool in the pan until cool enough to handle; remove springform pan ring.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack.
• Place tart on prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated broiler until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

RICOTTA CHEESE CROSTATA (TART)

Steps:

• To prepare the Ricotta Cheese Crostata tart, start with the ricotta pie and leave it to drain in a strainer for a couple of hours 1 depending on how rich it is in whey. Then proceed with the shortcrust pastry: put the flour into a mixer together with the cold butter cut into small pieces 2 and beat on low for a few moments. Pour the grainy mixture onto the worktop and add the powdered sugar 3 ,
• in the middle make a crater with your hands and pour the egg yolks into it 4 . Grate the lemon peel 5 and knead until obtaining a smooth and homogeneous dough 6 .
• which you can wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour 7 . Meanwhile, make the cream. In a mixer pour the egg yolks together with the sugar and grate the orange peel 8 , then add the cinnamon powder 9 .
• Lastly, add the ricotta 10 and blend until smooth 11 ; set aside. Take the shortcrust dough and remove the wrap, beat it with a rolling pin to soften it a little bit, then divide it into two parts, one double the size of the other, and start rolling the larger one between two sheets of baking paper 12 .
• You will obtain a disc of about 1/16" (3-4 mm) 13 and place it in a 9" (23 cm) pie pan already buttered and floured 14 . Use your fingers to carefully arrange it so that the dough fits the baking pan. If it breaks in some places, don't worry, just patch them with pieces of the dough. Level the edges on the top with the rolling pin 15 .
• and then pierce the bottom with a fork 16 . In the middle pour the ricotta cream 17 and carefully level it with a spatula 18 .
• Then sprinkle the surface with chocolate chips 19 and finally roll out the second layer of shortcrust pastry 20 to obtain a disc which you will put on top 20 . Level the tart by rolling with the rolling pin so as to eliminate the excess shortbread (which you can freeze and then use on another occasion perhaps to make biscotti!) and let the air escape 21 .
• To finish, pierce the surface with a knife blade 22 , more useful than the fork in this case, and bake 23 in a preheated oven, in static mode at 340° F (175° C) for 70 minutes: make sure to put the pan onto a drip pan and cook it on the lower rack. Halfway through the cooking process, re-pierce the holes you created on the top with a knife and then continue cooking. Once baked, take out the ricotta cheese crostata tart and let it cool completely before enjoying it 24 !

TOMATO-RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a 9-inch springform pan, toss breadcrumbs with olive oil; press evenly into bottom.
• In a bowl, whisk ricotta with Parmesan, eggs, and basil; season generously with salt and pepper. Spread over crust; arrange tomatoes on top. Brush with olive oil.
• Bake until tomatoes are almost dry, 35 to 45 minutes; let cool. Unmold. Serve warm or at room temperature.

LEEK, RICOTTA & GRUYèRE TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out the pastry and use to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the base with a fork and line with baking parchment and baking beans. Sit the tin on a baking sheet and bake for 10 mins, then remove beans and parchment and return to the oven for a further 5 mins until pale golden. Reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pan and gently cook the leeks for 10 mins until softened. Beat together the ricotta, cream, eggs, tarragon, a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir in the leeks and all but a handful of the cheese.
• Pour the mixture into the tart case and scatter over the remaining cheese. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden and set. Leave to settle for 5 mins, then carefully remove from the tin and allow to cool a little on a wire rack. Serve warm.

RICOTTA TART: TORTA DI RICOTTA

Steps:

• For the pasta frolla: Combine sugar, butter, egg, milk, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Fold in the flour but do not over mix; make sure that the mixture remains cool and does not become pasty. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes, or until firm.
• For the Ricotta Filling: Place the ricotta in a large bowl stir in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla being careful not to over mix.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut off 1/2 of the pasta frolla and reserve. Roll 1/2 of the dough into a 14-inch disc and line a 9-inch cake pan with it. Allow the dough to hang over the edge of the pan. Roll out the reserved dough into a 10-inch circle. Reserve. Pour the ricotta filling into the crust base. Lay the reserved 10-inch circle of dough on the top of the filling. Trim the excess so there is a 1/2 to 3/4-inch overhang. Take the flap of dough left on the edge of the ring and roll it on itself so that it rests completely within the pan.
• In a small bowl, beat together the egg with a pinch of salt and a few drops of water to make an egg wash. Brush the surface of the torta with the beaten egg mixture. Place the torta in the lower third of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

SWEET RICOTTA CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon orange peel, salt, and baking powder in food processor. Add butter and blend until coarse meal forms. Add 2 eggs and blend until moist clumps form. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and knead to combine well, about 1 minute. Divide into 2 pieces, one slightly larger. Wrap and chill smaller piece. Press larger piece over bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom.
• Using electric mixer, beat ricotta cheese, cream cheese, cornstarch, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Beat in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons orange peel, and 2 eggs. Transfer filling to dough-lined tart pan. Roll out chilled dough piece to 10-inch round. Place round over tart; trim excess dough. Press edges of tart to seal. Cut 4 slits in top of tart. Bake tart until golden and puffed, about 1 hour. Cool completely.

SICILIAN RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• For the Tart Dough: This recipe works best with very cold butter. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Since butter softens rapidly with handling, return the cubes to the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes while you set up the food processor and gather the dry ingredients. Place the flour, sugar, and kosher salt, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse on/off a few times to combine. Add the butter, tossing quickly with a spatula to coat each cube with flour. This prevents the butter cubes from adhering together and helps them to break apart and combine more evenly with the flour. Pulse on and off 15 times until the butter particles are the size of small peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Process for about 10 seconds, stopping the machine before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the contents of the bowl onto a sheet of aluminum foil, pressing any loose particles into the mass of dough. Roughly form the dough into a 7-inch disk. Cover the dough completely with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to use. The dough may be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Let dough rest in refrigerator until needed.
• For the Tart: Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll out each portion of dough on a floured surface into 9-inch free form circles, about 3/8-inch thick, and transfer to baking sheets. Cover and chill the dough while you prepare the filling. Mix the ricotta, egg yolks, tangerine peel, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula until well combined. Scatter the chopped dates over the surface of the tart shell leaving a 1 1/2-inch border around the outside edge. Spoon the filling over the dates and raise the dough border to enclose the sides of the tart. Press down on the dough where if forms pleats to secure. Bake the tart for 15 to 18 minutes, in preheated 450 degrees, until the crust is golden and the filling is just set. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm.