Sungold Tomato and Melon Salad with Whipped Ricotta, Basil, and Black Pepper

I love the fresh ricotta we get from Jersey Artisan Co. It’s made from milk from the nearby cows of Spring Run Farm in Pittstown and arrives bearing the thatch of the basket it was made in—so charming served in a slender slice alongside tomatoes and herbs, say, or fennel and orange slices, with plenty of good olive oil. And then I had an epiphany, a cheese epiphany: ricotta, when whipped, transforms. Like Jerry Lewis morphing from Julius Kelp to Buddy Love in The Nutty Professor, ricotta treated this way goes from endearingly nerdy and unkempt to irresistibly smooth and unctuous. —Cal Peternell

Photography By Miana Jun | June 06, 2024

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 6 Serving(s)

4 sprigs basil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Freshly cracked black pepper
Salt
12 ounces ricotta
Best-quality olive oil
1 favorite melon, halved and seeds scooped out
1 basket Sungold or best-quality cherry tomatoes
2–4 scallions, all the white and most of the green parts, thinly sliced
3–4 radishes, thinly sliced
Leaves to garnish (i.e. watercress, chervil or other)

Preparation

Crush a sprig of basil with your ﬁngers and put it in a small bowl with the vinegar, black pepper, and salt. Stir and then let sit for 20 minutes to get the basil ﬂavor into the dressing.

Meanwhile, put the ricotta in a mixing bowl or food processor bowl. Whisk like crazy, or sanely push the button on the food processor, until the ricotta becomes shiny and smooth, like very thick sour cream. Whisk in ¼ teaspoon salt and two tablespoons oil. Taste, adjust and spoon the ricotta onto a platter in a big dollop and spread it out a little with the back of the spoon.

With another spoon, scoop out crescents of melon into a mixing bowl—depending on its size, you may not need the entire melon. Add the tomatoes, scallions, and radishes to the melon. Tear basil leaves to toss in and add ¼ teaspoon salt. Remove the basil sprig from the dressing and add three tablespoons olive oil. Stir well, add most of the dressing to the salad and toss to coat. Arrange the salad next to the ricotta, letting some of it overlap. Spoon the remaining dressing around and serve.

Every composed salad says “garden” more clearly with a little tuft or scattering of salad leaves such as watercress or other cress, wild rocket, baby red mustard greens, chervil. They can be lightly dressed or, if very small and fragile, not dressed.