Folded, whipped or baked into something golden, ricotta is brilliant and adaptable
My record for making ricotta and lemon ring cake is three minutes and 42 seconds.That doesn’t include heating the oven or baking, or finding a recipe, which is in my head.It does include getting out the utensils (bowl, spatula, grater, scale, ring tin) and the ingredients (ricotta, olive oil, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, lemons), then speed-mixing everything in one bowl, scraping the batter into the tin and getting the tin in the oven via a discus throw.The timer is stopped as the oven door is closed.This is not relaxing cooking, it is entertaining cooking.
And it is gratifying, having proved my partner wrong when he said it would take me at least five minutes.I was disappointed, then, to find myself on terrible form the other day, when a chocolate-chip version of the same ring cake took me five minutes and 19 seconds.In my defence, I had difficulty getting the glass bowl out of an impractical stack, and we had run out of chocolate chips, which meant I had to find a knife and chop up a bar instead.Even so, it was an absymal performance.There was some consolation in the cake itself, which is not only the quickest, but one of the best cakes I know.
The ricotta adds creamy depth and the olive oil provides fat, and together they make for a tender, moist, everyday cake that is best eaten warm, when the bits of chocolate are still hot enough to be little pools.This cake is just one reason to get a tub of ricotta out of the fridge: creamy, light, spongy, with a savouriness and sweetness that recalls fresh milk, there are dozens more uses for this brilliant, useful, accommodating ingredient that moves with ease between savoury and sweet.Often described as a cheese, ricotta is more of a milk product.A resourceful one, too, being made with the leftover whey from cheese-making (commonly sheep’s milk, but cow’s and goat’s are used, too), which is heated again (hence the name ricotta, meaning cooked twice) with an acid coagulant and extra milk.The coagulant causes the whey to curdle further, resulting in wobbly, delicate curds of fresh ricotta that seem a cross between clouds, junket and soft scrambled egg, an ephemeral substance that needs to be eaten as soon as possible.
Preservation is possible if the ricotta is pasteurised, producing the long-life product we find in supermarkets.There is no doubt that fresh and pasteurised are different creatures, and I feel glad to have both.Fresh is full-flavoured, with a pleasant saltiness and unique, granular texture, while processing creates a more regular product, creamy with a smoother texture, though with adequate seasoning and care, it’s suitable for everything.If you want fresh, producers such as Westcombe in Somerset make rich ricotta from whey left over from cheddar production.Alternatively, a form of ricotta is relatively easy to make at home: Anna Jones has great advice on that.
Soft and cool, ricotta can be spread on garlic-rubbed toast, maybe with a slice of tomato on top or simply a zigzag of olive oil.It can also be beaten with a spoonful of grated parmesan or pecorino and lots of black pepper or lemon zest for a more piquant spread; the same mix can be loosened with a bit of milk and served as a dip.What to cook? Ricotta makes the most brilliant frittata: fry courgettes in olive oil with salt until soft and slightly golden, then mix with beaten eggs, salt, pepper and a handful of ripped mint.Or fritters, which also pair courgette and ricotta, as well as chickpea (gram) flour and parmesan, which produces a thick, sticky batter that’s spooned into hot oil to make a Sicilian snack that’s not unlike pakora – great as a light meal with tomato and salad, maybe, or with caponata, or even with boiled potatoes with sweet red onion and capers.Moving from the stovetop to the oven, ricotta bakes well – such as in Nigel Slater’s baked ricotta with thyme, or this quite gorgeous, Richard Olney-style aubergine, tomato and ricotta gratin.
Which brings us to the vast universe that is ricotta and pasta.At this time of year, pair ricotta with rigatoni and greens such as spinach, rocket, chard, radish leaves or leafy sprouting broccoli.Or with peas, spring onions and a large hollow pasta, such as lumaconi, conchiglioni or paccheri for a baked pasta.Another dish that uses ricotta beautifully is pasta alla pecorara, which translates as “shepherd’s-style pasta” – pici or fettuccine with ricotta, pecorino and guanciale.The combination of ricotta, wilted spinach and parmesan is a typical and delicious filling for ravioli.
Simply mix 250g well-drained ricotta with 250g wilted spinach, an egg, a big handful of grated parmesan and a good grating of nutmeg, then use it to make parcels from fresh egg pasta – Oliver Rowe’s instructions for pasta-making are great,An alternative shape for a similar filling is Ruth Rogers’ spinach and ricotta roll or rotolo, my version of cannelloni, or Thomasina Miers’ recipe for four-cheese greens lasagne,Or skip the pasta-making and wrapping, and shape the green-and-white-speckled filling into naked balls, AKA gnudi, also known as gnocchi di ricotta or malfatti (“badly formed”),Moving back to sweet applications of ricotta, it is good on toast with honey or golden syrup, or mixed with lemon zest and a little icing sugar to go beside cakes or on top of strawberries,A particular glory of ricotta cooking is crostata di ricotta e visciole (sour cherry and ricotta tart) from the Jewish-Roman tradition, the template of which can be used for a fig and orange version.
Alternatively, how about Meera Sodha’s Christmas ricotta semifreddo, using Hobnobs, ricotta, chocolate and amaretto? Not forgetting, of course, the queen of ricotta desserts, Sicilian cassata, a layered construction of sponge, sweetened ricotta, marzipan, icing and candied fruit, which doesn’t take three minutes and 42 seconds to make, but which does bring bling, beauty and joy to the table,Winner, winner chicken dinner | It is hard to believe that Ed Smith’s On the Side, his clever sourcebook of side dishes that can happily take centre stage, is nine years old,I think his latest book, Peckish: An Inspirational Collection of Winning Chicken Dinners, will become a classic, too – the recipes are inspirational, and they are backed up by Ed’s accessible approach,The book is helpfully arranged by the different cuts of chicken (drumstick, thighs, breast, wings, etc), as well the whole bird, including a sublimely simple and good honey and mustard roast chicken,Whey to my heart | In my ignorance, I thought it was just Italian novels that contained romantic descriptions of whey leftover from cheesemaking.
It turns out that one of the best passages is in George Eliot’s Adam Bede, when Mrs Poyser offers Adam a drink of warm whey and he notes it is as good as ale.There are also great descriptions of actual ale, broad beans, sweet scented butter, luscious strawberries and hyperbolic peas.What I’m watching | While I wasn’t sure to begin with, Vladimir, the eight-part adaptation of Julia May Jonas’s 2022 novel, gets better with every passing episode.Rachel Weisz, in the words of Lucy Mangan, is unswervingly brilliant as the tenured English professor dealing with the fallout after her husband, another tenured academic on the same campus, is suspended for sleeping with students.It also makes you reconsider what dish to take to a potluck – next time I’ll contemplate growing lettuce for a harvest salad croquembouche.
If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive Feast in your inbox every Thursday.
NFL 2026 draft predictions: the stars, the needs and the lower-round gems
Our writers take a look at the best prospects coming out of college, and which teams need to nail their picks over the coming daysArvell Reese, LB/Edge, Ohio State. He is one of the best pure linebacker prospects in a generation, and he has the athletic traits to become a full-time edge defender. Some teams view him as a linebacker; those at the top of the board prefer him as an edge rusher. In an ideal world, Reese will do a bit of everything. Think Philly’s Zack Baun on Super Soldier Serum
Carlton coach Michael Voss accuses media of bullying after Elijah Hollands incident
Embattled Carlton coach Michael Voss has defended his staff and accused the media of bullying as the spotlight intensifies on the club for allowing Elijah Hollands to play last week during a mental health episode.Hollands behaved erratically in the match against Collingwood and is now in hospital, and speculation has focused on how Voss’s staff had allowed the young player to take the field given his struggles were obvious even from the stands.Fronting a large press pack on Thursday at Princes Park ahead of Saturday’s match against Fremantle, Voss said he wanted to respect the AFL’s investigation into the club’s actions on the night and “we accept that we need to look at process”.But he said that in a “complex situation that has history and background” his staff deserve praise.“I’m proud of my people, and the process itself will take care of itself, and we need to put our support behind that,” he said
Bournemouth 2-2 Leeds, Charlton 1-2 Ipswich: football clockwatch – as it happened
Time to sign off; I’ll leave you with Sam Cunningham’s match report from the Vitality Stadium. Thanks for joining me.Jamie Jackson watched as Manchester City won at Burnley to go top of the league …Ed Aarons was at the Valley to see Ipswich dig out a vital win:Championship table: Ipswich edge back into second place but Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough can all still claim automatic promotion. Oxford are not quite down after Charlton failed to take a point from their game tonight.Premier League table: Manchester City are top on goals scored, Bournemouth climb above Chelsea, and Burnley are relegated
‘For billionaires, not boxers’: De La Hoya warns over Ali Act overhaul in Senate hearing
A US Senate hearing on the future of boxing laid bare a sharp divide over the sport’s direction on Wednesday, as longtime boxing figures including Oscar De La Hoya warned of proposed changes that could erode fighters’ rights while executives aligned with an Ultimate Fighting Championship-backed push for a centralized model argued they would bring structure and investment.“When one system controls access, choice becomes theoretical, not real,” professional boxer Nico Ali Walsh told lawmakers, framing the stakes of a debate that could dramatically reshape boxing’s economic model. “When that happens, you fight who you’re told to fight or you don’t fight at all.”At issue is a House-passed overhaul of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act that would allow the creation of centralized “Unified Boxing Organizations” (UBOs) operating alongside the current fragmented system. Supporters say the approach would simplify matchmaking and attract investment
Lando Norris backs Max Verstappen to stay in F1 after drivers win rule changes
Lando Norris has said he believes Max Verstappen will continue to race in Formula One but that it would be “a miss” for the sport if the four-time world champion did decide to leave owing to his dissatisfaction with the way this season’s new regulations have affected how drivers race.Verstappen has been outspoken in his dislike of the new regulations and their focus on electrical energy management that now makes up almost 50% of the car’s power output. He has intimated he might leave the sport but, with the rules having been adjusted by the FIA in an effort to address concerns of all drivers this week, Norris felt the Dutchman would remain in F1.“Hopefully things get better and I just saw that he said he wants to win the fifth world championship at the minute, so I’m sure he’ll stay longer than people say,” Norris said.The McLaren driver, who is the defending world champion, noted, however, that it would very much be F1’s loss if Verstappen left because he was disenchanted
Lewis Moody ‘picking up baton’ left by Doddie Weir with MND fundraising cycle ride
The former England captain Lewis Moody has said he is “picking up the baton” left by Doddie Weir after announcing plans to lead a 500-mile, seven-day cycling challenge this summer to raise funds for the fight against motor neurone disease.Moody will be joined by many of his fellow 2003 World Cup winners, including Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall and Ben Kay, as well as his teenage sons on a journey from Newcastle to the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, with all proceeds going to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.The former Leicester, Bath and British & Irish Lions forward became the latest retired player to be diagnosed with MND, which he revealed last October, with the disease having claimed the lives of Weir and the former rugby league international Rob Burrow in the past four years.The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation has raised more than £23.5m to fund MND research, and Moody has committed to continuing the former Scotland international’s legacy in fighting a disease that results in six new diagnoses each day in the UK alone
Fertiliser is in short supply. What does it mean for Australia’s farmers – and your bread?
BP board suffers triple climate rebellion from shareholders
Chinese hackers using everyday devices to target UK firms, warns cybersecurity agency
Criminal gangs profiting as child sexual abuse websites double, experts say
Over-75s drive levels of physical activity in England to record high but inequalities remain
New England coach McDermott backs Connor and criticises Wane’s ‘unfair’ treatment