Scardillo Cheese – B.C.'s Largest Producer of Fresh Cheese!

If you want to impress your friends and neighbours at that dinner party next Sunday, we have the recipes for you!

*Peaches & Cheese Dessert/Snack
*Ricotta Cookies
*Nacho Dip
*Baked Nachos
*Scardillo Eggplant Manicotti
*Low Fat Marinara Sauce
*Cannoli Cones

PEACHES & CHEESE

This is a fabulous sweet treat for any occasion.  Especially delicious as a tea-time snack or an after dinner delight.

What You Will Need:

• Fresh Peaches (however many you need to serve, we went with 2 because that will make 4 dishes)
• 1 container of Scardillo 400g Ricotta Cheese
• 4 Tbsp. Honey
• Cinnamon (to taste)

Putting it All Together:

1. Wash and then cut the peaches in halves and remove the pits
2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F
3. Place peaches in a single layer, cut side up in a baking dish and bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until light golden
4. ALTERNATIVELY – you can place the peaches cut side down on a grill on low or indirect heat until the peaches are soft (roughly about 2 – 4 minutes on each side) **we baked our peaches in this recipe instead of grilling them**
5. Once browned or softened.  Remove peaches from oven or grill and place them into bowls or plates
6. Use 1 – 2 Tbsp. of our Scardillo Ricotta on each peach and spoon (or mini ice cream scoop) the Ricotta into the centre of the Peach where the pit used to be
7. Sprinkle with some Cinnamon and then drizzle with honey
8. Enjoy the deliciousness!

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RICOTTA COOKIES

Probably the most delicious cookies that you will ever eat. They’re light, fluffy and a little bit cake like. Perfect with a good cappuccino.

What You Will Need:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of margarine or butter, softened
• 1 container of Scardillo 400g Ricotta Cheese
• 2 tsp. of vanilla extract (we added about 4 to ours because we like vanilla!)
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cups of all purpose flower
• 2 tbsp. of baking powder

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice (we actually added more lemon to make the cookies with a bit of a kick)

Putting it All Together:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In large bowl beat sugar and margarine or butter until blended
3. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes if you have a strong arm or a mixer
4. Add the ricotta, vanilla and eggs until well combined
5. Add flour and baking powder and beat until dough forms
6. Drop dough by level tablespoons (we used a small ice cream scoop!), about 2 inches apart, onto an ungreased large cookie sheet. If you would like, line the bottom of the cookie sheet with parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking
7. Bake about 15 – 20 minutes or until cookies are very lightly golden, they will be soft like cake
8. Remove cookies from oven and cool on a rack until room temperature
9. In a separate bowl, mix together the icing sugar and lemon
10. Once thoroughly mixed drizzle the icing with a spoon on top of the cooled down cookies.
11. Enjoy right away or wait until the icing has hardened a little.
12. PERFECT treat with coffee or tea!

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NACHO DIP

An EXCELLENT game day recipe that goes well with our Baked Nachos Recipe below!

What You Will Need:

• 1 tub or 400g Scardillo Part Skim Ricotta
• 2 Cups of grated Scardillo Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup of mild/medium chunky salsa
• 2 tsp. 2% milk

Putting it All Together:

1. In a saucepan combine the Ricotta and Cheddar cheese
2. Stir over low heat until melted together
3. Stir in Salsa and Milk
4. Stir until thoroughly heated
5. Once the dip looks hot and thick, transfer to a heat safe serving bowl
6. Use to dip tortilla/nacho chips OR drizzle over a plate of tortilla/nacho chips
7. Enjoy!

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BAKED NACHOS

What You Will Need:

• 1 bag of Nachos or Tortilla Chips
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 onion
• 1/2 cup of  sliced black olives
• 600g of Scardillo Nacho Mix OR 600g of grated Scardillo Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese

Putting it All Together:

1. In a 9 x 13 baking pan place a layer of Tortilla Chips along the bottom
2. Sprinkle a layer of the grated cheese or Nacho Mix over the layer of Tortillas in the pan
3. Dice the peppers and onion and mix together in a separate bowl.  The pepper dices should be quite chunky.
4. Add a layer of the pepper, onion mix on top of the cheese layer in the baking pan.
5. Add another layer of Tortilla chips
6. Add another layer of Scardillo grated cheese
7. Add another layer of the pepper onion mix
8. Add a final layer of Tortilla chips
9. The remainder of the cheese and pepper onion mix can be sprinkled at will over the last layer of Tortillas
10. Top the last layer with the sprinkled black olives (or not… I personally find olives revolting)
11. Place in the microwave until the cheese is melted OR place in an oven at 400 degrees until melted and the top starts to turn a light brown colour then remove from oven or microwave
12. Serve hot with our Nacho Dip recipe above and with salsa and sour cream on the side.
13. Absolutely Delicious and not for the Calorie Conscious!

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Our very Vegetarian Friendly Recipe! and our Low-Fat Marinara Sauce!

SCARDILLO EGGPLANT MANICOTTI

What You Will Need:

• 1 Large Eggplant (approximately about 8 inches long and 5 inches in diameter)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Nonstick Olive Oil Spray
• 1 cup of Scardillo Ricotta Genuina OR Scardillo Part Skim Ricotta
• ½ cup of chopped fresh Basil
• ½ cup of grated Scardillo Parmesan
• 1 ½ cups of “Low Fat Marinara Sauce” (recipe for this found in the post below)
• 1 cup of grated Scardillo Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 baking sheets
• 1 – 7 x 10 baking dish

Putting it All Together!

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Using a large, sharp knife, square off the eggplant to make a block about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide.  Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 8 slices that are about 1/6-inch thick.  Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.  Season the eggplant with salt and pepper to taste, and spray lightly with olive oil spray.  Roast until the eggplant is almost tender, about 20 minutes.  Let it cool slightly. (Leave the oven on)
4. While the eggplant is cooling, combine the Scardillo Ricotta, ¼ cup of the grated Scardillo Parmesan, and the basil in a medium bowl.  Season the cheese with a mixture of salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spread ¾ cup of “Low Fat Marinara Sauce” over the bottom of  a 7 x 10 inch baking dish
6. Lay the roasted eggplant slices on a work surface.  Spoon on 1/8 of the ricotta mixture onto the bottom of each piece of eggplant, and then roll it up, jelly-roll style, to encase the filling.  Nestle the 8 eggplant “manicotti”, seam side down, in the baking dish.  Spoon the remaining ¾ cup marinara sauce over the eggplant.  Sprinkle with the mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup of Scardillo Parmesan.
7. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the filling is hot, about 18 minutes.  Serve immediately.

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LOW FAT MARINARA SAUCE

What You Will Need:

• ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper
• 2 – 28 ounce cans tomato puree
• ½ cup of water
• Sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese
• 1 large sprig of fresh basil

Putting it All Together!

1. Heat a pot over medium heat.  When the pot is hot, add the olive oil.  Add the garlic and onion and season them with salt and crushed red pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and garlic are translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the tomato puree, water and sprinkling of Parmesan to the pot.  Bring to a simmer.
3. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 25 minutes.
4. With the back of a knife bruise the basil and stir the sprig into the sauce.
5. Simmer the sauce, uncovered for 5 minutes.
6. Season with salt and crushed red pepper to taste, if desired.
7. Serve on your favourite dish OR store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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This recipe combines an ice cream like dessert with a cheese.  Odd combination you say? EXACTLY! we say. This is also a great recipe for kids… as long as you don’t add the liqueur.

CANNOLI CONES

What You Will Need:

• 1 tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Basket of Fresh Scardillo Genuina
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier or similar liqueur (DO NOT add this if you are making this dessert for children)
• 1/2 cup of  White Granulated Sugar or Raw Sugar
• 1/2 grated Orange Rind
• Small sized waffle cones (available at most Grocery Stores)
• Mixing Bowls
• Whisk or Electric Mixer

Putting it All Together so That it Tastes Great:

1. Combine the Scardillo Genuina, Sugar, Vanilla and Cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
2. Whip together until blended smoothly (An electric mixer will probably be more effective here because Genuina is rather thick.  However,  if you are looking to exercise your upper arm muscles then feel free to whisk by hand).
3. Once smooth add the Grand Marnier or your choice of similarly flavoured liqueur and grated orange rind to the mixture.
4. Mix/Whip together until everything combined.
5. Take a small waffle cone and scoop the mixture into the cones.  Be sure to pack the cones all the way to the bottom/tip.  For the last scoop that sits on top of the cone, get a nice round scoop so that it looks like an ice cream scoop.
6. For an added treat, dip or sprinkle the cheesie end of the cone into ground nuts or chocolate for a delicious topping.  You can eat them right away or for a slightly cooler treat let them sit in the refrigerator before consumption.
7. Just remember–>Genuina must be kept refrigerated when it is not in use to prevent it from “going off”