Tag: forage

How-to: Whipped Ricotta Two Ways

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Fancy toasts have been on blogs, in cafes, and pictured on Insta for quite some time. Personally I can’t get enough avocado toasts-smashed avocado with a good sprinkle of chili flakes and squeeze of lemon juice. Another variation of these faWncy(pish-posh accent) toasts is using ricotta cheese. It’s my go-to snack as of lately. Sweet or savory, you’ll be making these for yourself for breakfast or lunch on the go, or for the wee ones after school.

I use the Sweet Ricotta on toast or pancakes! I use the Savory mix on toast, bagels, crostini, even as a dip for carrot and celery sticks!

For the photo pictured, I used Irish Soda Bread(my go-to recipe is the one I learned at Ballymaloe!), Irish honey, and wild blackberries that I foraged down in West Cork.

Here is my quick ‘How-to’ for Whipped Ricotta:

 

Ingredients:

All you need is about a cup of ricotta cheese

 

For Sweet Ricotta:

A teaspoon of vanilla (I like to also scrape a tiny bit of the beans out of the pod to add an extra punch of flavor)

Drizzle of honey, agave nectar

Toppings: Berries, coconut shavings, or almond slivers

 

For Savory Ricotta:

A teaspoon of lemon juice

A teaspoon of thyme leaves (dried is totally fine, but fresh is that bit nicer!)

Sea salt and pepper

Toppings: Tomatoes, green olives, smoked salmon

 

What to do:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the ricotta until fluffy (just about 4-5 minutes). Remove the bowl from mixer and add either your Sweet or Savory ingredients.

It’s that easy! And there are so many ways to mix up the flavors. I even sometimes smash berries into the Sweet Mix, it creates a cool color effect.

 

Enjoy!

A stinger: Nettle soup

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This is kind of an old school soup, but it still intimidates some people today. Nettles have an enormous amount of benefits to them. One of the qualities is that they’re a major detoxer. So had a long weekend of partying/ traveling through airports/ or just feeling sluggish? Drink a cup, or slurp a bowl of this soup, and you’ll be back on track! Grab your gloves(gloves are pretty crucial!) and head to the fields! You’ll want to pick ‘young leaves’, so not the largest ones you see. You’ll also want to stay clear of ones on the side of the road(cars, dogs and such can cause contamination), once picked, still wearing your gloves, give them a good rinse.

Here’s what you’ll need:

100g butter

2 leeks, chopped

4 cups nettles leaves, roughly chopped (be sure to still have those gloves on!)

350g potatoes (sweet potatoes are also great, if you prefer!)

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 litre vegetable stock

salt and pepper

 

Get all your ingredients prepped.

Melt the butter until foaming. Add the leeks. Sprinkle on the tumeric. After about a minute, add the nettle leaves. Cook the leeks and leaves, stir in the potatoes. Pour in the stock. Simmer for 30 minutes. Use your food processor or blender to liquidize the soup. Serve with a splash of double cream, or mini wild garlic scones.