Entertaining and looking to get away from your typical cheese and crackers? Of course you are! While it’s lovely to splurge on a few of the highest quality aged cheeses now and then, sometimes the budget may not allow. The solution? Go for a ‘feature’ baked cheese as the star of the show. This approach is not only kinder to your wallet, but your guests really appreciate the different ingredients, and the effort you’ve gone to. That’s why we love this amazing recipe for Baked Ricotta with Roasted Grapes. It looks gorgeous, tastes amazing, and features some different elements your guests may not have tried before.
Firstly, let’s just break down the baked ricotta. It’s fluffy, puffs up almost like a souffle in the oven, and is gloriously warm and inviting. Then we have the roasted grapes. Which take on a jammy, savoury quality. When combined on your favourite thick cracker or bread, it’s a taste sensation!
Ricotta with roasted grapes is such a differently delicious idea for a fancy cheese plate. We’ve made a recipe which perfectly suits our 300 gram Olympus Fresh Ricotta, which you can find in most independent retailers. Like most of our recipes, this is super easy to pull off. However, we can’t take credit for the combination itself. The clever chef Rachel Ray has a wonderful Baked Ricotta with Roasted Grapes recipe which was a total inspiration!
Make this dish for your next special night, and look like a total boss.
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Baked Ricotta with Roasted Grapes
Ingredients
- 2 stems red seedless grapes
- 300 grams Olympus Ricotta, fresh
- 50 grams parmesan reggiano, grated
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 clove garlic clove, crushed
- 1 egg
- 1 Tb full cream milk
- 1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius
- Wash grapes and pat dry.
- In a medium-size bowl, toss grapes in olive oil, salt and the leaves of one sprig of rosemary. Add any loose grapes as well.
- Transfer to a shallow baking tray and bake in oven for 12 minutes, turning after 6 minutes.
- Once grapes are nicely roasted and some are deliciously bursting, remove from oven and set aside. Once cooked, turn oven down to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Meanwhile, grease a small springform baking pan. (If you don't have a small baking pan, a 2-cup ovenproof dish will also do, and you can scoop the ricotta from the dish to serve).
- Finely chop about 1 tsp of rosemary leaves
- Place ricotta, grated parmesan, garlic and rosemary in a bowl and mix to combine. Add egg and mix until smooth.
- At this point, add a splash of milk (about 1 Tablespoon) to make the mixture slightly smoother. Once combined, transfer mixture to the baking pan.
- Brush top with melted butter before placing in the oven. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until beautifully golden brown on top.
- Once cooked, remove from oven and leave to slightly cool. When able to handle, release ricotta from the baking pan, and plate beside your gorgeously squishy roasted grapes.
- Serve with thick crackers or crusty bread