In Italian cuisine, the use of spinach and ricotta together is quite common, and this is a combination that I personally love. Unlike French cuisine, vegetables aren’t usually transformed into completely homogeneous creams in Italy, so a typical Italian dish with spinach and Ricotta will have the ricotta with tiny pieces of spinach.
I must confess that I do like some French-like creamy fillings, and when I found out I had spinach and ricotta on my refrigerator last week, I had to make this very versatile pâté.
Besides the rich flavor of this mix, an interesting thing is that ricotta cheese is relatively low in calories and fat, so it is a great creamy substitute for other cheeses and even mayonnaise, cream and other high fat ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Onion
- 300g (10 oz) of fresh spinach
- 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 300g (10 oz) ricotta
Directions
- Wash the spinach leaves and dry well;
- Finely chop the onion and smash the garlic;
- Put the olive oil in a pan on low heat and add the onion and garlic;
- Cook until the garlic and onion are slightly golden, stirring occasionally;
- Add the spinach leaves, stir well, cover with a lid and cook in low heat until the leaves are tender, stirring occasionally;
- Remove from heat and wait until the spinach mix reaches room temperature, then pass it through a food processor until thoroughly mixed
- Still in the food processor, add the ricotta and mix until creamy
Serving suggestions
- Use it in pasta like you would use pesto. After the pasta is cooked mix it and serve;
- Use as a filling for crepes or pancakes;
- Use it as a topping for Bruschetta or simply spread it over toasts;
- Serve it as a pâté with appetizers;
- Use as mayonnaise substitute.
