Oven Baked Ricotta Cheese with Pistachios, Chocolate and Citrus Fruits
By Chef Omar Allievi
Yield: 4/6 servings
Ingredients
For chocolate wafers:
1 cup Flour
6 tablespoons Butter
⅛ cup Icing sugar
¼ cup Unsweetened cocoa
¼ cup Egg white
For citrus fruit jelly:
1½ cup Orange juice, filtered
¼ cup Water
¼ cup Sugar
½ ounce Gelatin
¼ ounce Agar agar
For baked ricotta cheese cube:
14 ounces Fresh ricotta cheese (preferably made from goat’s milk)
⅛ cup Icing sugar
1½ cup Natural Pistachio granules
3½ ounces Melted chocolate
Instructions
For chocolate wafers: Soften butter and put all ingredients into a food processor. Blend into a smooth mixture. On a sheet of oven paper, or better still a silicone mat, form mixture into 1½” squares about ¼” thick. Bake in a 325° F oven for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool and keep in a dry, cool place.
For citrus fruit jelly: Soften gelatin in cold water and squeeze oranges. Heat water in a small pan with sugar and add previously filtered orange juice. Add squeezed gelatin and agar agar. Mix vigorously, bring to boil and remove from heat after a minute.
Pour liquid into a low rectangular mould to create a layer about ¼” thick and set aside to cool. Cut jelly to same size as ricotta cheese cubes.
For baked ricotta cheese cube: Mix sugar with ricotta cheese and place in silicone plum cake mould. Bake for two hours, the first at a maximum temperature of 250°F and the second at 300°F. The result should be a sort of “very dry, golden brown plum cake”. Let cool and cut into 1¼” cubes. To assemble dish: coat two opposite sides of ricotta cube with pistachio granules, place on serving plate and arrange orange gelatin square on top. Lean chocolate wafers against the two free sides and decorate with a couple of mint leaves and a drizzle of melted chocolate.
American Pistachio Growers