Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

I know. I USUALLY do Meaty Mondays. This isn't a Meaty Monday because I have a vegetarian housemate. SO shoot me. You COULD always add crumbled bacon or ham or other smoked meat to the vegetable layer. It's already delicious as it is.  I have trouble stopping at one serving, and you probably will too. Actually is good at room temp for lunch, and reheats in a snap in the microwave. It's also grain free and gluten free.

In my house, this is a vehicle for leftovers. I had made a big batch of ricotta last week, and after we had lasagna from it, there was still a great deal of ricotta leftover. Plus, whenever I have too many vegetables lingering in the crisper, I just roast them so they can be added to omelets, or grain salads so they don't get all sad looking and end up in the compost bin. I roasted a baking sheet full of mushrooms, zucchini, red onions, garlic cloves, grape tomatoes and bell pepper, just doused them in evoo, salted and peppered and roasted them for about 35 minutes at 425ºF. Gives me about 2 cups of cooked vegetables. Two cups of pretty much any cooked vegetable works here.

Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

Note: Please select organic / home or locally grown products for your table... and this can be made without eggs. Drain your ricotta for an hour or so in a fine mesh colander and don't expect the baked product to hold together .

2 lb. whole milk ricotta
2 large eggs
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1T dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cups roasted or cooked vegetables
Grape tomatoes or roasted red pepper for garnish (olives would work, too)
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle or spray

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Oil an oven-to-table 9" square baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, the eggs, the feta, and the herbs and spices through the black pepper. Mix well. Spread half the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer the cooked vegetables over the ricotta mixture. Top with the remaining ricotta mixture. This is easiest to do if you put little dollops all over the top, and then gently  even it out. Decorate the top with halved grape tomatoes, cut side up, or bits of roasted pepper. Drizzle or spray the whole top with a light coating of oil (Love my EVO oil sprayer for this) and place in the oven. Bake about 35 minutes until the top is browned and the cheese is puffy. Serve warm or at room temp. Serves 6. Maybe. It should, but not likely.

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives

I love ricotta, no, wait, I adore ricotta.  Used to drive my Mom crazy when we'd have lasagna for dinner as I'd eat all the ricotta filling and leave the lasagna noodles piled on my plate. I thought the filling was the best part, and I still do.When I have time, I like to make ricotta, not with acids like lemon juice or vinegar, but with cheese making enzymes. Much sweeter and better. There's nearly always some sort of ricotta in my fridge. This week though, I have store-bought ricotta to use.

Well, I started messing around, and having homegrown asparagus, and LOTS of chives, I thought  a savory cheesecake would be the way to go. Firm enough to cut, but still creamy. These are perfect. The flavor of both the asparagus and chives, and the Romano, too, come through beautifully, but you can still also taste the creamy goodness of the ricotta.

These are really delicious, little individual ricotta cheesecakes. It's a nice lunch or dinner with a salad and a glass of wine. These little cheesecakes are vegetarian, and gluten free, and great when you have omnivores and vegetarians at the table. Nobody will complain.

Note: To drain ricotta, line a colander or sieve  with paper towels or paper coffee filters and dump in the ricotta. Let drain for an hour or so before starting the recipe. My friend John, when he was packing to move, gifted me with some really nice little 4" spring form pans, he wasn't going to use anymore. Thank you, John! You can use similar pans from here, they're just a bit bigger, or just bake them in ramekins and don't bother unmolding.

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives
Serves 4

2 large eggs
2  large egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
Black pepper, fresh ground
3-4 T minced fresh chives
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

2 lb. whole milk ricotta, drained for at least 1 hour
1-1/2 cups  asparagus, blanched and sliced into 1/2" pieces, and 20 tips set aside


1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray four 4" springform pans or ramekins with cooking oil spray. Set the prepared pans on a baking sheet.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs and yolks together, then whisk in the Romano cheese, the nutmeg, a few grinds of black pepper, the chives (more is better) and the garlic powder. When its well-blended, fold in the ricotta, and the cut asparagus.

Ready for the oven.

3. Divide the ricotta mixture evenly among the four pans, and press 5 asparagus tips in a circle on top of each pan. Bake for about 1 hour until browned and puffy, and a toothpick comes out clean.

Minutes away from....lunch!

4. Cool about 15 minutes in the pan, then run a thin knife blade around the sides and remove the springform rim.  If using ramekins, just serve in the dish. Serve warm.