I’m addicted to Salvatore Brooklyn ricotta. If you’ve had it, you know why. If not, let me tell you: It’s the clotted cream of ricotta, thick as fudge, smooth as runny brie, with a milky, rich taste that would be wasted in between lasagna noodles, slathered in sauce.
No, this is special stuff, made from nearly organic milk from a cooperative in the Hudson Valley. I spent a very happy week snacking on the contents of the $8 container. This is what I did:
Day 1: Ricotta Marbles: Roll chunks of the stuff between your fingers into matte rounds. Eat.
Day 2: Ricotta Honey Crostini: Toast some whole grain-type bread. Butter it (yes, butter) while hot. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with really good honey, then top with ricotta and drizzle with more honey. Variation: add sliced banana. You could be dainty about it and use a knife and fork on this one, but I like to eat my snacks out of hand.
Day 3: Pistachio Ricotta Bruschetta: Ravenously pull apart a crusty baguette. Smear with ricotta, drizzle with good olive oil, top with chopped pistachio nuts and dust with coarse sea salt. Gnaw standing up over the sink while the olive oil drips down your chin.
Day 4: South of the Border Ricotta: Attempt to dip a tortilla chip into the ricotta container. It will break apart, a piece of it sticking into the white cheese like a ship’s sail. Spoon it out, top with hot sauce, eat and repeat.
Day 5: Painted Lily Berries, Cream, and Ricotta: Fill a bowl with fresh, preferably farmer’s market berries. Pour in enough heavy cream to coat the fruit (1 to 2 tablespoons should do it), then sprinkle with brown sugar. Top with ricotta blobs and sprinkle with granola or nuts. This is really more like a breakfast than a snack, but so it goes.
Day 6: Ricotta Two Ways, Salty and Sweet: The container is getting low, be thrifty. Take a teaspoon of ricotta, drizzle with maple syrup (use a lot), eat. Take another teaspoon of the white bliss, top with a sliver of prosciutto, eat.
Day 7: Bye Bye Ricotta Avocado Canapé: Scrape remaining ricotta onto an organic Trisket-type cracker. Top with black pepper, a slice of avocado, and salt. Nibble away until it’s all gone. Mourn the loss and get on with your day. Snacking is ephemeral by nature.
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Hannah Wallace says:
Melissa, inspired by your post, I went out and bought some Salvatore Ricotta the other day.Delicious and rich—but the texture is so different than the Italian ricotta I'd been expecting. It's more of a thick, cream cheese texture than a curdy, whey-y texture...as you say, "thick as fudge." But hey, I'm not complaining. It didn't last long! I made crostini with ricotta and homemade garlic scape pesto last night and today spread it on whole-grain toast for lunch with a little olive oil and (Slovenian) sea salt.