Food Recipes Dinner Ricotta Polpette 4.0 (1) Add your rating & review Tender vegetarian polpette made with ricotta mixed with grated Parmesan cheese, and simmered in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. By Liz Mervosh Liz Mervosh Elizabeth Mervosh is a recipe tester and developer for Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in Birmingham, Alabama. She creates and fine-tunes recipes for brands including Southern Living, Real Simple, Food & Wine, People, and EatingWell. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on August 16, 2023 Tested by Catherine Jessee Tested by Catherine Jessee Catherine Jessee is a Test Kitchen Assistant in the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios. She has tested recipes for brands including All Recipes, Eating Well, Food & Wine, Real Simple, People, and Southern Living. Prior to joining the Food Studios, she accumulated 3 years of experience cooking in restaurants. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Photo: Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Caleb Clark Active Time: 1 hr 15 mins Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Servings: 4 servings These polpette are a great vegetarian dinner; the recipe can be doubled for a crowd. Frequently asked questions What is ricotta cheese? Ricotta is a soft whey cheese, most often made from cow’s milk used in lasagna, dips, cheesecakes and other baking. It is a byproduct of the cheese-making process. When you make cheese, you separate the curds and whey, and make cheese from the curds. Ricotta was traditionally made in Italy from the whey, but is now often made from whole milk. You can buy ricotta, or make it at home. Our 20 Best Ricotta Recipes Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen When grating the cheese for these polpette, we prefer to use a food processor instead of a box grater. You’ll end up with large pieces of cheese that melt into these little pockets of salty cheese in the polpette dough. After forming the polpette, be sure to let them rest in the refrigerator for an hour. This allows the breadcrumbs to fully hydrate so the polpette hold their shape as they cook. The sauce is slightly spicy and otherwise simply seasoned; gussy it up with more garlic and spices if you want it to be more complex. Ingredients Ricotta Polpette 2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (from 2 [15-ounce] containers), drained 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup), plus more for serving 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon grated garlic (from 2 medium garlic cloves) 1 1/4 cups dry breadcrumbs, plus more as needed Tomato Sauce 4 medium garlic cloves 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled San Marzano plum tomatoes, crushed by hand 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, plus small leaves for garnish 1/2 cup water 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Directions Prepare the Ricotta Polpette If ricotta is watery, spoon onto a few layers of paper towels and spread to an even layer; place more paper towels on top. Gently press down on ricotta to remove excess moisture. Remove and discard top layer of paper towels. Lift paper towel by the sides and dump ricotta into a large bowl, using paper towel to shake leftover pieces of ricotta into bowl. Stir in eggs, Parmesan cheese, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic until thoroughly blended and smooth. Stir in breadcrumbs until combined. (Depending on ricotta, mixture may be loose but should be able to shape into balls that hold together. If not, add additional breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup at a time, as needed. ) Shape mixture into 24 balls (about 2 tablespoons each), and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate, uncovered, 1 hour. While polpette chill, prepare the Tomato Sauce Place garlic, oil, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium-low. Once garlic starts to sizzle, reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat, and mash garlic cloves using a fork. Transfer garlic mixture to a large Dutch oven, and stir in tomatoes, basil, water, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 to 15 minutes, reducing heat to low as needed to prevent boiling. Stir Tomato Sauce, and immediately add Ricotta Polpette to simmering sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook, gently shaking Dutch oven occasionally, until polpette are tender and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Using a serving spoon, divide polpette and sauce evenly among 4 shallow bowls. Drizzle with additional oil, and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Garnish with small basil leaves. Rate It Print