Baked ricotta tart in mashed potato crust

March 3, 8:15 PMDC Farmers Market ExaminerTiffany McGettigan

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Baked ricotta tart in mashed potato crust, topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions and olives

Earlier this week, I raved about the Blue Ridge Dairy. I told you about their wonderful fresh mozzarella and creamy Greek yogurt (see here).

In all my high praise, I only made mere mention of their ricotta.

This may lead you, dear readers, to assume the ricotta is not as noteworthy as the other products.

Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In my former life, I did not like ricotta. I found its flavor bland and texture mushy. It was reserved only for lasagna- where it could be seasoned and then hidden in a mess of other cheeses and tomato sauce.

But now? After becoming closely acquainted with the Blue Ridge Dairy’s ricotta, I will eat ricotta cheese by the spoonful. Its mild flavor and soft texture is everything ricotta cheese was always meant to be.

In an effort not to seem so strange (eating ricotta cheese by the spoonful and all), I created a recipe which involves baking ricotta cheese: a savory ricotta supper tart. And, what’s more, I experimented with a different sort of tart crust: one made with the flesh of a baked potato. After a little research on baked potato and mashed potato crusts, I came up with a pretty good concoction (if I do say so myself).

After filling the pre-baked potato crust with a simple ricotta mixture, I topped the finished tarts off with some delicious oven roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, olives, and fresh basil. These garnishes are all optional, but certainly make the tart extra-delicious. You can always use leftover caramelized onions from another dish, or you can caramelize the onions and roast the tomatoes a day before assembling the tart.

This recipe yields 6 mini tarts, or one 9" tart.

INGREDIENTS
For the Crust:

• 2 medium baking potatoes, baked or microwaved (about 2 Cups of potato)
• 1 TB + 1 tsp milk
• 1/4 Cup Flour
• 2 tsp olive oil + extra for brushing the crust
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the Filling:

• 3 Cups Ricotta Cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Optional Additions:

• slow-roasted cherry tomatoes
• caramelized onions
• fresh herbs
• olives (I recommend Kalamata)
• toasted pine nuts

DIRECTIONS

Bake the Crust:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

Remove the baked potato from the skin and mash. Add milk, flour, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mash until the mixture comes together. If the mixture feels too sticky, add a small amount of flour until the mixture is moldable, but will not stick to your fingers.

If using mini-tart pans, place the pans on a large cookie sheet.

Lightly brush 6 mini-tart pans or one large 9" tart pan with olive oil. Scoop the mashed potato mixture into each tart pan. Use your fingers to press the mixture into the pan. When the potato mixture has been completely pressed into the pan, lightly brush the outside of the mixture with olive oil.

Bake the crust for 30 minutes, or until the crust is beginning to turn golden-brown. Remove from the oven.

Make the Filling:
Combine all the filling ingredients. If desired, you can add caramelized onions or fresh herbs to the filling.

Scoop the filling into the pre-baked crust(s). Return the tarts to the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

*Note: If adding slow roasted tomatoes to the top, you may want to remove the tarts at 20 minutes. Press the tomatoes into the top of the ricotta mixture, then return the tarts to the oven for the remaining ten minutes. All other additions (caramelized onions, fresh herbs, olives, pine nuts) can be added to the tart after it is removed from the oven.