(As prepared and read by Alex Tuller for the April 20, 2006 Podcast)
Ingredient of the week: Ricotta. I had never worked with ricotta before and when I was at Adams shopping, I saw a tub of the our wonderful local cow cheese maker Sprout Creek Farm’s fresh ricotta and decided it was a must. We used fresh free range eggs from Cari’s chickens. This is a relatively easy dessert to make and really pretty.
You need:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, diced
4 large eggs
1 15-16 ounce container of fresh ricotta cheese (best if whole milk)
3 ounces cream cheese
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
Special equipment: tart pan with removable bottom
Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp orange peel, salt, baking powder in the food processor and pulse for two seconds. Add butter and blend until a coarse meal forms. Add 2 eggs and blend until the dough starts to clump and then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about a minute. It is a great texture. Divide it the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other and wrap and refrigerate the smaller one. Press the larger piece into the tart pan, working your way up the sides of the pan covering it.
Using an electric mixer, beat the ricotta and cream cheeses together with the cornstarch and vanilla. Then beat in the remaining sugar, remaining orange peel and last two eggs. Beat it for probably 10 seconds or so. It does not need to be over beaten, just smoothish.
Pour into the prepared pan. Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to about 10†diameter and place on top of the tart and trim the edges. Cut several slits in the top and cook for about 1 hour. But check it after 45 minutes. Mine was done a little early and I could have removed it about 10 minutes prior. It will be a beautiful golden color. Cool completely.