What do you get when you combine fresh pasta, shredded roasted beets, and ricotta cheese?
Why… pink pasta!
If you’ve ever eaten ricotta, you’ll know it goes with various foods. In the savory category we have pasta, roasted potatoes, any vegetable really, bread, crackers, chicken, God who knows what else. With the sweets, we have cheesecake, jam, muffins, sweet quick breads (ever tried it on banana bread?). It truly is one of my favorite foods (preferably in a whole milk version) due to its versatility, slightly tangy taste, and creaminess. I adore it in anything Italian. So I had these beets, and absolutely no red sauce, so I combined two of my favorite foods to make a very unrealistic-looking savory (yet sweet!) dish. Perfection.
Now that the temperature remains in the 30s outside, it’s perfect climate for making your own ricotta at home. A few months ago I attended a ricotta-making workshop with the ladies of Salvatore Bklyn, who inspired me greatly to go home and kick out a batch. Before grad school starts in three weeks, I’m setting a goal for myself to make at least a half-pound of homemade ricotta to share it with friends. And perhaps in celebration, a delicious ricotta-themed party. Now that I have a candy red dutch/French oven, massive amounts of braising and odd cuts of meet will enter my Jersey City home, ready to be made for others.
Happy New Year, all. A resolution is to post more tasty bites for you. You’ll be seeing more of me on Serious Eats: New York as the days and weeks progress into 2009.
