Baked Ricotta Pesto

Baked ricotta is one of the easiest recipes using ricotta. Ricotta is mixed with pesto, egg and cheese and it tastes like a souffle. Serve it warm or cold, on a cheese platter or for a light lunch. It's so easy and just requires a few ingredients!

All you need to make baked ricotta is: garlic, ricotta, egg, parmesan and pesto. I also added lemon zest and chilli for added flavour. It's so simple it feels like cheating in a way! You can serve it in a ramekin or you can line a baking dish and turn it out onto a plate. Either works with this baked ricotta.

Other flavour ideas for baked ricotta: parmesan, grated garlic and thyme; red pesto or sweet baked ricotta works too!

Other recipes using ricotta: Italian ricotta cheesecake, Ricotta and Herb Bread, Ricotta and Chive mini tarts, Rose Cheesecake, Ricotta and Salsa Verde Crostini, Ricotta Gnocchi, Ricotta and Jam Crostata, Prosciutto Ricotta Morning Buns, Rhubarb Ricotta Cheesecake, Ricotta Spinach Balls, Ricotta and Pear Cake, Mortadella, ricotta and olive pie, Zucchini Flower Tart or make your own Ricotta from Scratch-it's an easy and fun lockdown activity!

Every day I make Mr NQN's lunch. It usually varies because it's based on what I have made and this platter was one of his lunches that I also served for pre-dinner. It reminded me of the good old days-you know when we could have friends over and serve an antipasto platter and then eat dinner together. Good times...le sigh.

Mr NQN loved this lunch and ate this over his Zoom call where he spread the ricotta onto crackers. His colleagues always ask him what's for lunch. This was albeit fancier than normal because it was put together for a photo. It's not normally this elaborate and it can be downright odd.

After his lunch in the mid afternoon he gets a cup of tea and afternoon tea. I've tried to not load him up with sweets which is his wont but it's not good for his health so it's usually carrot and fruit which he loves anyway. He has dubbed it the "root and fruit plate" and he is rather chuffed with himself for coming up with this name. I think he also loves popping out of the office and saying, "How about some root and fruit?" because he does have a rather puerile sense of humour. It's also his birthday today so I'll make sure that he gets an extra big root and fruit platter for afternoon tea!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you have something for afternoon tea? Do you have a puerile sense of humour?

Baked Ricotta Pesto

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves:

• 1 clove garlic, peeled

• 350g/12.4ozs. ricotta

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup/45g/1.7ozs grated parmesan cheese

• 4 tablespoons basil pesto

• Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

• 3 cherry tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon oil

• Chilli oil or chilli flakes

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Line a tray with parchment and spray or line a 10cm/4inch baking tin. Place the garlic in a food processor and blitz. Then add ricotta, egg, parmesan, pesto and lemon zest and process until smooth and uniform in colour. Scoop into the tin and place on a tray. Place cherry tomatoes on the tray next to the tin and drizzle tomatoes with some olive oil. Bake both for 25 minutes or until the ricotta is puffed up and cherry tomatoes have softened.

Step 2 - You can serve this in the tin or take this out of the tin after it has cooled for 20 minutes. Place chilli flakes and cherry tomatoes on top of the ricotta and serve with crackers. This is also delicious served cold.