Italian Ricotta Castagnole Recipe - An Italian in my Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Do Italians use ricotta? ›

In Italy, ricotta is typically eaten as a filling for pasta or cannoli. Here in Racale, Margherita's ricotta is eaten by the spoonful — without even salt or olive oil. Light and pillowy in texture, it's like tasting a cloud of sheep's milk.

Pettole are puffed up, small balls of dough, that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, often dressed up with flavour-packed ingredients such as olives or anchovies, but also eaten plain.

Today, ricotta is widely appreciated for its versatility: it can be sweet or savory, hot or cold, fresh or cooked. We eat it fresh straight out of its fuscella (the basket where ricotta is kept), but also atop pasta, fresh bread, crostini, or eggs.

It can also be eaten by itself, perhaps accompanied by honey or jam, or spread on fresh, warm bread. Made from the leftover curds from cheese making, ricotta is a prime example of the Italian tradition of never throwing anything away.

In the United States, American ricotta is almost always made of cow's milk whey, as opposed to Italian ricotta which is typically made from the whey of sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk.

There might not be a more perfectly named food than coccoli, which translates to “cuddles” in Italian and refers to Tuscany's favorite little balls of fried bread dough.

Origins of Coccoli

The word for this snack comes from the same Italian word for “cuddle.” Our Florence tour guide described the little nibble to me as being like “an edible cuddle.” These warm, gooey snacks are delicious, cuddly comfort food.

Translation of "panetti" in English. Noun. bricks cakes loaves.

You can smear ricotta on toast and then top it with almost anything for an easy meal. Try it with corn and scallions, or pesto and tomatoes, or a fried egg. You can also eat it for dessert: top with strawberries and honey or banana and nutella. Get the recipes here.

Ricotta lovers will be happy to know that ricotta cheese is a healthy food and belongs to the dairy food group. It can be enjoyed every day as part of a balanced diet.

Can you put ricotta on a pizza? ›

Combine ricotta cheese, garlic, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and pecorino cheese in a bowl. Lay the flatbreads on a baking sheet, and distribute the ricotta mixture evenly on all pizzas. Top with mozzarella cheese, a pinch of black pepper, and a little more of the shredded pecorino.

Yep, it's time to introduce our latest dessert to hit the menu. Our Twisted Dough Balls: Cinnamon Chocolate are fresh dough rolls topped with cinnamon sugar and coated with moreishly melted milk chocolate. It's a good thing there's six in the box, because you'll definitely be wanting more than one.

Product Description. Part-baked dough balls with a garlic butter dip. Dinner Time Show TimeAt PizzaExpress, we believe that mealtimes should be one of life's highlights. That's why every dish is made with care- and flair.

In southern Italy lasagna is generally made with dried sheets of pasta layered with rich meat ragú, ricotta and mozzarella. In the north, especially in Bologna, the most popular version of lasagna features fresh egg pasta colored green with spinach and layered with ragú, bechamel and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Mascarpone: Another Italian cheese, mascarpone makes a great ricotta substitute. However, since mascarpone is more tart and flavorful, you should only use it in dishes with other strong flavors.

There are several sweet breakfast dishes that Italians favor. These include a range of pastries, including cornetti, which is like a filled croissant, and sfogliatelle, a thin pastry with ricotta that's popular in Naples.