Whipped Ricotta with Dates, Hazelnuts and Lemon
an accidental hit
Last week, my Mom and I went to one of my favorite restaurants in the city, Shukette. They have outstanding Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food, similar to their sister restaurant Shuka, but more elevated and cool. The menu is my cup of tea — dips, sides, meats, veg, with lots of bold fresh flavors and spices. We got the hummus and the labne to start. The hummus was the best I’ve ever had in NYC by far, but the LABNE… was something else. It was thick and creamy, and topped with torn dates, lemon zest, hazelnuts, olive oil, and herbs. Truly mindblowing. Shukette also makes GF chickpea crackers in-house that are surprisingly sturdy and the perfect carrier for their decadent dips.
Fast forward to the following weekend. I decided it would be a great idea to recreate the labne dip myself. I had a vision: my high school friends were coming over for cocktail hour on Saturday, and this would be my centerpiece. I got everything on Friday except the labne because I wanted to get it from the Union Square Farmer’s Market on Saturday. Regrettably, I ended up putzing around too long in the morning and didn’t arrive until 2pm (in the pouring rain), and my labne was sold out. Plan foiled.
I was begrudgingly convinced to get ricotta, which I decided I would whip. Last time I tried to whip ricotta (an easy task, one might think), I over-whipped it and it curdled (?). Needless to say I was hesitant about giving it another go 2 hours before my party would start.
Turned out so. fucking. good. Everyone was obsessed with it, and it’s truly so easy. New favorite appetizer. The best recipes are mistakes. I am happy to report I’ve overcome my fear of ricotta.
Serves 4-6 as a part of a spread, or 2-3 as the main dish.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups fresh ricotta
4-5 medjool dates, pits removed, torn into small pieces
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
1 T organic extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp raw honey
pink salt
to serve: crackers of choice (I used Simple Mills Sea Salt square crackers and Original Seed Crackers, plus sesame Ella’s Flats), and carrots.
Optional: herbs of choice, if you’re feeling risky (thinking mint?)—I did not do this so can’t confirm.
STEPS:
Toast the hazelnuts. Roughly chop them—not too fine, just in halves-ish. Discard any extra skins. Heat a small pan over the stove on medium. When hot, add the nuts and toast them until golden brown and fragrant, stirring/tossing occasionally, a few minutes. Watch to be sure they don’t burn! Remove from heat and let cool.
Whip the ricotta. In a medium bowl, add the ricotta, 1 T extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp raw honey, zest of 1/2 lemon, and a pinch of pink salt. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the mixture for ~1-2 minutes, until it is creamy and smoother, but still has some chunks of ricotta/grainy texture in places. It won’t look like whipped cream, so don’t overdo it.
Plate! when ready to serve, add the ricotta to a low plate/bowl and smooth it out into a ~.5” layer. Top with torn dates, toasted hazelnuts, lemon zest, and another little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately with crackers of choice and crudite. Enjoy!!
