Some cheeses shout for attention and some cheeses whisper. This one’s the quiet type; it doesn’t expect you to ponder it. I bathe it in extra virgin olive oil, which it sucks up like a sponge. It plays well with olives, salumi, breadsticks and ciabatta and isn’t finicky about red wine versus white. If you’re having a party, you’ll appreciate how well it holds up on an antipasto platter. If it’s a party of two, over cocktails, you’ll be surprised by how much you can eat.
Read moreBaked Lemon Ricotta is a Slice of Puglia
Is it cheese…or is it cake? Or is it cheesecake? Baked lemon ricotta is a modern creation produced by a small family enterprise in Puglia, but there’s plenty of tradition behind it. In Sicily and Puglia, shepherds long ago figured out that they could bake their ricotta in their wood-burning oven and extend its lifespan. Thirty-five years ago, the Donvito family took the practice in a new direction, creating a line of sweet, sliceable baked ricottas flavored with lemon, coffee, cocoa and pistachio. The lemon version—the bestseller by far—turns up at American cheese counters occasionally and I’ve been eyeing it, but not trying it, for years.
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