Baked Ricotta with Lemon Zest & Rosemary


This was a happy accident.

I had some leftover fresh ricotta from another recipe, and while I usually would eat it right out of the container, I decided to try something new.

Ricotta cheese is not as bad as you think it is for you.

It has 5 grams of protein per serving; 0 carbs; and only 80 calories for 1/4 cup.
Hey, some yogurts aren't even that nutritious. ;)

I would usually bake ricotta with an egg in the mixture (like with a lasagne), but here I decided to keep it simple.

For 15 oz. of ricotta, mix in some fresh rosemary, a few tablespoons of freshly grated Parm, lemon zest and sea salt.


Pour into a small baking dish greased with olive oil, and drizzle a tbsp of olive oil on top.


Bake at 375F for 25 minutes.
I turned the broiler on the last 2 minutes to form a nice crust on top.

I topped the baked cheese with Rao's jarred roasted peppers (they have raisins and pine nuts, and I love them).

Spread on toast or warm pita.


A delicious appetizer (or breakfast) is born.

Comments

Joanne said…
This sounds so good. I've actually never had baked ricotta before but just give me a bowl of this and a spoon and I can already tell I'd be pretty happy.
Ciao Chow Linda said…
I love baked ricotta but never made it with the lemon peel and rosemary. I know this is in my future. I even have a jar of those Rao peppers with raisins, part of a gift basket I won last week. Bring on the pita!