Eggplant Ricotta Bake

Chunks of roasted eggplant are baked in tomato sauce with ricotta and a topping of ground walnuts. Mix the basil in before baking or sprinkle it fresh over the top before serving.

2 medium Italian style eggplants, peeled and cubed
2 large shallots or a small onion, finely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups good quality tomato sauce
16 ounces good quality ricotta
1 cup walnut pieces, ground or minced
1 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the eggplant cubes with the shallot and garlic in a 10x13-inch baking dish. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. (Note that the eggplant will easily absorb all the oil; do not add more.) Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven. Turn the temperature down to 350 degrees.

Pour the tomato sauce over the eggplant mixture and mix well. It should be well sauced but not too soupy. Dot spoonfuls of ricotta over the surface. Top with basil and walnuts if desired, or just walnuts with the basil reserved for fresh topping after baking.

Bake again for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot, optionally topping with fresh basil.

Serves 4-6.

Squash Noodle Lasagna

This pasta-less lasagna substitutes thinly sliced summer squash or zucchini for the noodles, and it's delicious. The squash makes a surprisingly good textural substitute, in addition to tasting good and being more nutritious. My squash-avoiding seven-year-old scarfed it down not realizing what he was eating, and my skeptical husband admitted to being wholly won over.

Like most lasagna recipes, this is a bit of a project, best saved for a weekend. The squash slicing is easiest with a mandolin if you have one. Use good local ricotta if you can find it; I got a luscious hand dipped whole milk version from Maplebrook Farm (Vermont) at Green Fields Market.

4 medium summer squash or zucchinis (nice and straight if possible)
Salt
16 ounces ricotta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 large egg
1 lb ground beef
4 cups tomato sauce
1 cup chopped fresh basil (optional but good)
12 ounces shredded mozzarella

Start by slicing the squash or zucchini lengthwise to about 1/8-inch thick. Lay the slices out on dish towels and salt lightly on both sides. Let sit for 10 minutes or so, then blot dry with another dish towel. You want to remove some of their excess moisture to improve the texture in the lasagna and keep it from getting to soggy. Optionally, you can then bake the slices in a single layer for about 10 minutes at 400 to partially cook and dry them further; I tried this with some of my squash and found I couldn't tell the difference in the end product, so likely won't bother with it again in the future.

While the squash sits exuding moisture, stir together the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Brown the beef in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, salting it as you do so. Add the tomato sauce and fresh basil and set aside.

When the squash is ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9x13-inch pan.

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of squash, placing the slices next to each other as close as possible but not overlapping.

A layer of squash, partway through lasagna assembly

Spread a third of the ricotta mixture over the squash, then top with a third of the mozzarella. Repeat layers in this order (sauce, squash, ricotta, mozzarella) for two more layers. Cover the pan lightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Let sit for several minutes before serving.

Serves about 6.

Pizza with Ricotta, Green Garlic, and Basil

I bought a big bunch of green garlic from The Cook's Garden at the farmers market this past weekend--yum! Green garlic, also called spring garlic, is a treat available at this time of year. Unlike mature garlic, you can eat the whole plant, and the flavor is milder than the garlic you normally think of. I combined it on this pizza with the rest of the ricotta I made and the remains of my basil thinnings. If you don't have access to basil yet, I think it would also be tasty with other fresh herbs that are in full swing now, like oregano or sage. You could also add some thinly sliced asparagus to this.

The ricotta I made ended up drier and more crumbly than the ricotta you generally get at the store. If you use softer ricotta, just dot the pizza with globs of it.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup ricotta
1 cup sliced green garlic (in rounds, like you might do with scallions)
1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 oz. shredded mozzarella (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Paint the pizza crust lightly with olive oil. Spread the tomato sauce over it. Top with ricotta, green garlic, and basil. Sprinkle the mozzarella over everything (you're going for sparse coverage).

Bake for about 15 minutes, until crust is done and cheese begins to brown.

Serves 3-4.

Spring Lasagna

With homemade ricotta and mozzarella in the fridge, lasagna was calling my name. This is pretty basic (apart from the homemade cheese!), but I threw in some nice late spring ingredients. I have been enjoying the thinnings from my basil seedlings and am eagerly waiting for the remaining plants to get bigger. You could also use some fresh oregano in addition or instead. Quantities are approximate.

3-4 cups pasta sauce (tomato-basil would be best)
12 no-boil lasagna noodles (1 12-oz box)
Olive oil
1-2 stalks spring garlic, in thin rounds
1 medium onion, chopped
5-6 cups spinach
1/2 - 1 cup basil leaves
2-3 cups ricotta
2-3 cups shredded or sliced mozzarella (fresh or the regular stuff)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Place three noodles over the sauce.

Heat a little olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the pasta sauce and simmer until heated through. Add the spinach and basil and cook until wilted.

Spread 1/3 of the ricotta over the noodles in the pan, then add a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the mozzarella. Add another three noodles, another 1/3 of the ricotta, another layer of sauce, and another 1/4 of the mozzarella. Repeat one more time. For the final layer, add the noodles, a layer of sauce, and mozzarella on top (no ricotta).

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Serves 4-6.

Making Ricotta

Having made mozzarella last weekend, I thought I should try my hand and ricotta this weekend. It's actually quite a bit easier than the mozzarella--just a matter of adding citric acid to milk, heating it pretty hot, then spooning out the separated curds. I didn't use raw milk this time, just regular whole milk from Mapleline Farms, but it came out delicious. Now I am feeling inspired to order some more cultures and try out some other relatively easy cheeses, and also yogurt.

Herbed Goat Cheese Spread

Here's another option for those chives and, as the season progresses, other herbs. This is great on crackers, bread, or veggies, or, come summertime, try it as a pizza topping with sliced fresh tomatoes on top. There are lots of great local goat cheese options.

8 ounces ricotta cheese
3 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped chives or other herbs
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mash the ricotta and goat cheese together in a small bowl until they are well combined.

Add the chives, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

Makes about 2 cups.