Spinach Ricotta Skulls
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- Yield Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients
- 1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
- Olive-oil, cooking spray
- 1 bunch fresh spinach (or a 10-ounce bag), stems removed, washed well and dried
- 1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves (from 1 bunch)
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
- 2 large whole eggs, plus 1 egg white
- Crackers, for serving
Directions
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Wrap ricotta tightly in cheesecloth; place in a colander over a large bowl. Place a heavy object (such as a bowl or canned good) on top; let drain in the refrigerator at least 3 hours (or up to overnight).
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray. In a food processor, combine drained ricotta, spinach, basil, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Process until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add whole eggs and egg white; process for 5 seconds. Pour mixture into prepared pan; bake until set and just brown around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, preferably overnight. To unmold, run a paring knife around edge before removing side of pan.
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Cut into quarters. Using a wide spatula, transfer to a cutting board coated with cooking spray. Cut out shapes with a skull-shaped cookie cutter coated with spray (if cutter doesn't come with eyes and a mouth, use aspic cutters to make features). Using a cotton swab, gently press skulls out directly onto crackers (leave eye and nose shapes in cutter).
Cook's Note
Be sure spinach is completely dry. Frozen spinach can be substituted for fresh: cook, drain, and press excess moisture from a colander.
I absolutely agree with Joshuabsu. These are delicious but I had the same issue with cutting out the skulls and I had exactly the same cutter too. It was a little too fibrous to cut out the detail of the eyes and nose. I made half moons with a circle cutter quite easily in comparison.
These have a great taste, but the skull is very hard to cut out and have them not tear. I recommend using cutters with less detail. I purchased the exact set that was used for these and the cat, ghost, and bat cutters worked much easier.