Italian Cuisine Cooking - Nita Mehta Class Video #cookingclass #food #learning #recipe #cook #foodie

pine nuts

🥗Healthier: walnuts

💰Cheaper: sunflower seeds

Walnuts provide healthy fats and are more affordable.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated pecorino

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free and adds umami.

ricotta cheese

🥗Healthier: cottage cheese

💰Cheaper: cream cheese

Cottage cheese is lower in fat and calories.

olive oil

🥗Healthier: avocado oil

💰Cheaper: vegetable oil

Vegetable oil is more economical for cooking.

Introduce the class and discuss Italian cooking ingredients.

Explain the difference between crostini and bruschetta.

Decide to prepare crostini with pesto and whipped ricotta.

Demonstrate how to make homemade ricotta (referred to as 'Rota') using 75 grams of paneer and 2 tablespoons of cream.

Crumble the paneer and blend it with cream to achieve a grainy texture.

Flavor the ricotta with fresh parsley, garlic, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

Taste the whipped ricotta to ensure it's well-seasoned.

Prepare the pesto by blending 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, walnuts, and almonds without water.

Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of cheddar cheese to the pesto mixture and blend until chunky.

Slice a burger bun into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices.

Flavor cherry tomatoes with olive oil, fresh or dry basil, chili flakes, salt, and pepper.

Spread a thick layer of whipped ricotta on the toasted burger bun slices.

Arrange the flavored cherry tomatoes on top of the ricotta with the cut side up.

Add drops of pesto on top of the tomatoes.

Preheat the oven and prepare to bake the crostini.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens