Strawberry Ricotta Scones

One sweltering and blindingly sunny summer day an eternity ago, we went strawberry picking. After shortcakes, smoothies, balsamic strawberry jam with cracked pepper, and much strawberry limeade, we ended up with about 5 pounds of berries in the freezer, where they've been hanging out gathering ice crystals ever since. Obviously, it's time to use them before the next strawberry season rolls around, but any old smoothie won't do for these conserved nibble-size beauts. Hard-earned berries require something special.

A few months ago I made these egg-free Blackberry Meyer Lemon Ricotta Scones and I haven't been able to shake their legacy since. Is there a better place to nestle sweet tender summer berries in the dead of winter than in between flaky warm layers of whole wheat ricotta scones? I for one think not.

Strawberry Ricotta Scones
adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup sugar*
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter
1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen), coarsely chopped
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup buttermilk

*I upped the sugar just a tad from the original recipe because well, I like sugar, but what I really mean to say is that it offsets the tartness of these particular strawberries. Let your berries be your guide and if yours are particularly sweet, feel free to reduce down to 1/4 cup of sugar.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the largest bits are about the size of a small pea. Be patient. It will happen.

Chop the berries coarsely (some big hunks are good!) and add to the flour mixture. Stir to combine.

Add the ricotta and buttermilk all at once. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Knead the dough a few times with your hands then dump it out onto a well-floured surface. Pat the dough into a round about 2 inches high. You can add a little more flour to the top of the dough to prevent it from sticking to your hands if it's super sticky.

Use a sharp knife and a steady hand to slice the round into 8 even wedges. Carefully transfer each wedge to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 15-18 minutes until the scones are golden brown and dry and crisp at the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring the scones to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you really want to do it up, serve them alongside balsamic strawberry jam with cracked pepper or vanilla mascarpone cream. May the sweet flavor sustain you until the return of berry season!

Whole Wheat Blackberry and Meyer Lemon Ricotta Scones

Blackberry. Ricotta. Meyer lemons. Uh-huh.

I've been on the prowl for a superstar egg-free scone recipe for some time. Leave it to Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen food blogger extraordinaire and author of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook to have my back. She has a luscious recipe for whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones (no eggs!) that has been calling my name since I stumbled upon it months ago.

Sadly, winter raspberries in Chicago always look like they've been pre-chewed by the time I get to them. And while still far from the plump farmers market jewels we get in August, November grocery store blackberries seem to hold up better to the wear and tear of stock boys and throngs of Thanksgiving shoppers. And the Meyer lemons? They were winking at me across the aisle, glinting their sunny skins right into my eyes, refusing to be ignored.

Whole Wheat Blackberry and Meyer Lemon Ricotta Scones
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar*
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter
1 cup fresh blackberries, lightly chopped into halves and quarters
1 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon), zest and juice
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream

*The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of sugar, but since I wasn't sprinkling any coarse sugar on top of these babies and I wanted to make sure the kiddos would love them, I upped it ever so slightly. 

1. Preheat the over to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the biggest chunks are no larger than a small pea. This might take a few minutes. Be patient.
2. Add the chopped blackberries and lemon zest to the flour-butter mixture. Stir to combine.

3. Add the juice from the lemon, ricotta, and heavy cream all at once. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Knead the dough a few times with your hands. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a circular mound.

4. Use a sharp knife and a steady hand to cut eight wedges and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake about 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp at the edges. Allow scones to cool on the pan for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. These are best the day they are baked, but can be frozen and reheated in the oven in a pinch.

Ridiculous, right? These are so freakin' good. Looly polished one off before she took her coat off after school. I would have scolded her but the truth is that mine never even made it onto the cooling rack.

 I'm thinking cranberry-blood orange scones for Christmas morning. What do you think?

Herby Pea and Ricotta Tart

Mufasa's herb garden is going bananas. I'm hoping to say the same about the tomatoes in a few weeks but for now, the focus is on trying to use as much mint and basil as possible. Hence, this pretty little morsel from the garden. 

I made this tart for my book club a few weeks ago and shockingly the kids were bummed that they didn't get to try it. Had it been a platter of cupcakes I wouldn't have given the matter a second thought, but pea tart? Okay!

Don't ask where Bean's shirt is. Skin, spatulas, and cupcake aprons. That's how we roll.

Herby Pea and Ricotta Tart
adapted from Cooking From the Farmers' Market by Jodi Liano and Tasha DeSerio

8x10-inch rectangle of puff pastry, thawed
2 cups peas, fresh or frozen but thawed
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 tbsp mint, coarsley chopped
3 tbsp basil, coarsley chopped
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 leek, washed and thinly sliced
salt and pepper

1. Bake the puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at 400 degrees for 10-13 minutes until puffy. Remove from oven. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of pastry, lay a second baking sheet on top of parchement to compress the puff pastry and return to oven for 10-13 minutes more. Remove when golden brown and crisping at the edges. Set aside to cool.
2. In a food processor, combine half the peas, all the ricotta, half the mint, and half the basil. Process to make a thick puree. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a separate bowl combine the remaining peas, mint, basil, lemon juice, zest, and leek. Spread the ricotta mixture over the puff pastry. Top with the pea and herb mixture. Garnish with additional mint and basil leaves if desired. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

In the end the girls were not huge fans of the tart as a whole, but they enjoyed the individual elements. Looly liked the peas and puff pastry and ate plenty of both for dinner. Bean liked the peas, the ricotta puree and the puff pastry, but not all together. After much prodding, Roo sampled a tiny taste of puff pastry but as I've mentioned before, he's a one texture at a time kind of kid.

Personally I think it rocks. Lemony, light, crisp, creamy and hearty enough to make a decent lunch. It's good now at the height of summer but I can so see it on an Easter buffet using some new spring peas - yum!