To all of you in the New York area, I hope that you didn't get too wet when leaving the office this evening, boy is it the perfect night to get under covers and watch movies and have hot soup! The weather certainly doesn't deter me from providing you all with the results for our Ricotta and the R's Marriage Monday pairings, so lets get going....
While running this morning, I got to thinking that each of our R's could take on a different relationship with Salvatore Brooklyn's Ricotta -- whether it was a one night stand -- a casual no-strings attached pairing; or a full-on serious monogamous relationship -- a standby, comfortable pairing you can't go wrong with; or the diamond in the rough that leads to ultimate and unexpected bliss. So for this week's results, each of the R's will be graded on the level of relationship capabilities they could possibly assume.
Contestant # 1 : Rotini - Our full-on serious monogamous relationship pairing - This contestant is the perfect vehicle to showcase the delish lacticness of our ricotta, however it becomes somewhat of a one sided relationship, the rotini assumes a supporting role to let our ricotta shine. However as we all know, relationships need to be about each partner stimulating the other and if this were a contest to see which allowed the Ricotta to sing on its own most successfully, contestant number one would probably win -- yet as I am sure you can see there is a lack of harmony. But with hard work and dedication, one could succeed! For example if you were to saute some fresh peas, shaved asparagus and basil with some olive oil and garlic and toss that with the rotini and add a decent amount of ricotta and combine it all together, you would have a very nice meal in which the rotini allows the ricotta to shine.
Contestant # 2 : Raspberries - Our one night stand, casual no-strings attached pairing - Not your first thought when you think of pairing a Ricotta, a little bit of a stretch! Here both the contestant and our star, Ricotta, have a melt-in-your-mouth sort of quality that melds them together in a way that I do not think allows either to fully shine. The juicy, red fruit qualities of the raspberries hold up somewhat to the creamy, milkiness of the ricotta but each misses a beat -- possible but not in the long term! However, raspberry confiture with ricotta on a nice homemade piece of shortbread wouldn't be bad.
Contestant # 3 : Radicchio - The diamond in the rough that leads to ultimate and unexpected bliss - Why you might ask did she decide to go with this contestant as her favorite? Well ladies and gents, I think that the bitterness of the radicchio is complemented and muted by the sweet milkiness of the ricotta. The leafy, crispiness of the radicchio is perfect for the smoothness of the ricotta -- a prime example of how opposites attract and succeed!!
Now on to our simple Ricotta and Radicchio Recipe. What I think you will see is that with the simplicity of this recipe, it really allows each ingredient to shine and play off the other:
Take a full head of radicchio and carefully tear off each leaf, toss with olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic. Roast for about twenty minutes at a low heat of 250 degrees or until the leaves are crisp and somewhat golden brown. Now slice a medium sized Grandaisy Ciabatta bread length wise and brush lightly with olive oil. Put on the stove top grill for a few minutes just to get a nice char on the bread infusing the bread with that fantastic grilled taste. On top of the bread, place a few leaves of roasted radicchio, then a nice canelle between table and teaspoon size of ricotta. To top the ricotta off, dice very thinly some fresh basil and drizzle with a very small amount of olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. Now you have a fantastically delish and simple open faced sandwich full of bitter, sweet, milky, crunchy, leafy, and aromatic tastes that blend together in perfect harmony. Enjoy and stay dry!
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