Baked Ricotta

500g ricotta cheese
2 small eggs
1 tsp high quality vanilla paste (or 1 vanilla bean)
120g caster (fine-crystal) sugar
1/2 cup of pistachio kernels (unsalted) *

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Beat ricotta and eggs in a large bowl until smooth. Add vanilla paste (or split vanilla pod and scrape seeds), sugar and nuts and combine together well.

Very lightly grease a cupcake tin. Fill with ricotta mixture (I advise trying to make sure that the first spoonful has fewer nuts; just helps later when removing from pan), cover in foil and then place in a shallow oven dish. Fill half way up the sides of the cupcake tin with water, making a sort of bain-marie. Bake for 50 minutes until firm. Cool thoroughly before attempting to remove.

Serve as individual 'cheeses' with a fruit based coulis. The first time I did this I used my mango and pineapple confiture. The second a ginger syrup, which I think would have benefited from a dash of lemon juice.

*I used half pistachios and half slivered almonds as pistachio kernals were brutally expensive