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Center Stage: Whipped Ricotta with Lemon and Olive Oil from Food n’ Focus

April Aceto is the author of Food n’ Focus, a blog devoted to bringing a variety of cuisines together in one photogenic place. She works in advertising sales by day and behind her camera at night. Her passions for food and photography come from her extensive travel around the country and the world, exploring new cuisine and landscapes. April can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Flickr.

I remember as a kid as we were making lasagna for family dinner my dad would always take a big spoonful of ricotta cheese and just eat it plain. And to me that seemed odd because ricotta was always something that I thought you had to bake for it to taste good. Now that I’m an adult and my palate has evolved, I realize that my dad had the right idea all along. 

Whipped ricotta has become one of my favorite appetizers to serve at a party. Once you add a few flavors into the fresh cheese and spread it onto toasted bread, it transforms into heaven in your mouth.

No, seriously! It’s so light and airy that you feel like you’re on a cloud while you enjoy each bite. This appetizer or snack is perfect for any time but I especially enjoy serving it in the spring and summer because of the crisp lemon taste. Since I hate firing up my oven in the middle of summer, I like to use my Easy Reach Toaster Oven as a quick way to toast my bread. It heats up quickly, doesn’t overheat my home and makes it so easy to remove all of the slices of bread without burning my hand.

You may want to make a double batch of this deliciously whipped ricotta because you won’t want to share it with your guests. This appetizer comes together so quick that you’ll have plenty of time to sit down and enjoy!

Whipped Ricotta with Lemon and Olive Oil

Yield: Serves 4
Author: Food n’ Focus

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf crusty baguette
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups whole-milk ricotta
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • Coarse sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, lemon zest, olive oil to serve

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth.
  2. Stop the mixer and add ricotta and milk. Beat on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture is fluffy.
  3. Remove from the mixer and place in a bowl or on a platter. Sprinkle generously with sea salt, black pepper, lemon zest, and a good drizzle of olive oil.
  4. Slice the baguette into ½” thick slices. Brush each slice with olive oil and place oiled side up in the toaster oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately with whipped ricotta.

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Comments

  1. Somebody here does not know how to write a recipe.
    2 cups whole milk ricotta is one item.
    (Unless it is 2C whole milk & 2C ricotta, in which case they should be listed separately.)
    Also, in the directions paragraph two it states, ”Stop the mixer and add the ricotta and milk.”
    Again as if it were 2 items. If in fact it is 2 items the ingredients are listed unclear. If it is
    only 1 item;
    IE: 2 Cups of Whole Milk Ricotta, then the directions are written in a confusing manner too.
    Ricotta can be purchased; Whole Milk Ricotta; Skim Milk Ricotta; and Part Skim Milk Ricotta.
    Apparently the writer writes, but does not cook, or cooks but does not write. Recipes and all
    instructional writing should be written with the idea the reader is new to the subject, not as the
    writer understands what is written, but how instructions on any subject will the words be received.
    So…………is it 2C Milk & 2 C Ricotta or is it 2C Whole Milk Ricotta?

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