HARTFORD - Executive Chef Nicholas Indino of The North House in Avon visited FOX 61's Good Day Connecticut Friday morning to make a whipped ricotta dish infusing a classic fall ingredient - fresh roasted pumpkin with a garlic and shallot confit!
The classically trained Indino is only 28 years old and is making waves in the culinary scene, wowing patrons from all over New England with his bold and tasteful dishes featuring traditional and nouveau New England Cuisine.
Pumpkin Ricotta
For the pumpkin puree:
- 4 pumpkins cut in half, scoop seeds (save)
- 1 ½ sage leaf, 1 T butter, salt (in each pumpkin half)
Roast covered until tender
Remove sage leaf, scoop from skin, puree SMOOTH in vitamix
For the pumpkin ricotta:
- 1 qt. heavy cream
- 1 container ricotta 3 lemons zest and juice
- 1 ½ 40 oz containers ricotta
Whip cream to stiff peaks
Combine all ingredients in equal installments in vitamix. Blend until glossy and smooth (do not let it heat up)
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
3 parts allspice, 1 part cinnamon
Season lightly with spice mix, salt and olive oil
Chef Tip: Fresh pumpkin will make all the difference in this dish. Roasting a pumpkin in advance is easy. You just cut it in half vertically, scoop out the seeds, and save those to roast for your garnish. To roast the pumpkin, add a little bit of oil and sage, and you can add the garlic and shallots into the cavity of the pumpkin before roasting. This will save you a step.
