Ciambella salata con ricotta, zucchine e uva di quaglia
Shopping for fresh produce at markets and at specialty stores is a constant source of inspiration when cooking and developing recipes for my classes and my blog. Recently I visited the newly built factory of That’s Amore Cheese, the people behind some of the best fresh curd cheeses we have in Australia. I watched the making of fresh ricotta and I was lucky enough to be offered warm ricotta straight from the vat. It was absolutely delicious! I made this gorgeous looking cake using a 20 cm nonstick Savarin mould.
Ingredients for 4 people
220 gr of self-raising flour
7 quail eggs
3 large eggs
500 gr of zucchini
50 to 100 ml of vegetable stock
200 gr of That’s Amore Cheese ricotta delicate
100 ml of cream
50 ml plus one tbs of extra virgin olive oil
Warm the oven to 180°.
Wash and chop the zucchini in very small cubes. Separate the white part from the green part so that you have some green cubes and some white cubes.
Sauté the zucchini in one tbs of warm extra virgin olive oil until soft but still “al dente”. It should be slightly soft but not mushy. Add a little vegetable stock to barely cover. Allow the vegetables to absorb the stock. Remove from the pan, drain and cool.
Transfer the ricotta and the lightly beaten eggs to a bowl and with an electric beater mix together with the extra virgin olive oil. Add the flour to the ricotta mixture a little at a time. Use a spatula to blend until well amalgamated and there no lumps.
Add the zucchini and amalgamate into the cake mixture.
Lightly oil the Savarin mould and transfer the mixture to the tin, distribute the quail eggs evenly around the top of the cake, pushing each egg half way into the mixture.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Test the cake is nearly cooked by inserting a toothpick near the centre, lightly brush the top with egg wash and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven allow the cake to cool slightly and remove from the tin.
It is delicious served warm for lunch with a green salad.
