Whipped Ricotta w/ Charred White Beans & Chimichurri

An OG blogging friend, Erin Alderson, recently released a cookbook all about her forays into vegetarian cooking. It is a deep dive into grains, legumes, and all of the things that she makes from scratch. I think the cover image is gorgeous, so I started with that recipe. She calls for Ayocote Blanco beans, and in an effort to not mail order beans this time, I used cannellini. If you are lucky enough to live near a specialty market that sells Rancho Gordo beans (who carry this variety), buy those! A pillow of quality whipped ricotta is worth it here, so try to buy a better quality one, not just a grainy supermarket brand. Since there are only three simple components, the recipe will benefit if they are higher quality.

The recipe asks you to char some things over a grill. Should it not be the season for that in your house, I had luck just charring things in a cast iron skillet over high heat for some char marks.

From Erin’s footnote: Many store-bought ricotta’s are too wet. I like to find the firmer ones that come in a basket if possible. If it has a lot of liquid, place the ricotta in a cheesecloth lined strainer over a bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Recipe adapted from The Yearlong Pantry by Erin Alderson.