Monday, May 30, 2016

Fresh Chive and Ricotta Muffins #MuffinMonday

Fresh Chive and Ricotta Muffins #MuffinMonday

Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.


Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.


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Growing herbs is supposed to be easy. For the most part, herbs flourish when you harvest them frequently. For basil, it's pretty easy to make a massive batch of pesto and freeze what you don't use. Here's how I make my pesto. But chives have proven to be a problem for me. I take a few pieces at a time but don't use a whole bunch, so the clump tends to get scraggly from under-use.


Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.


Chive blossoms are another matter--I covet those and have even asked the neighbors for their blossoms so I can make Chive Blossom Vinegar, Chive Blossom Focaccia, and Chive Blossom Potato Salad with Egg. I'm on a mission to use more of my clump of chives this year, so I got the hankering to make some savory muffins.



Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.


I knew I'd use ricotta cheese to make a creamy muffin, and used bacon grease for the fat since I had a large amount handy. After assembling the chives and bacon grease, I thought that potatoes would be missing. I mean, chive and bacon topped potatoes are a terrific combination. To add some potato flavor, I grabbed some potato flakes and added them to the mix.


The first iteration of this combination was pretty tasty--but pretty dry. I snapped photos and we ate them warm (with butter--yum!) alongside beef stew during this unseasonably cold Spring we've been having.


Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.


I wanted to tweak the recipe a bit, though, so I made them again for a Teacher Appreciation luncheon. No pictures this time--I literally pulled them out of the oven, onto a tray, into the car, and drove them over to the school a few minutes before the meal was to be served. The best combination of ingredients is shared below.


Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.


For more recipes using herbs, please see my Recipes Using Herbs. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.


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Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.

Fresh Chive and Ricotta Muffins


Ingredients

  • One egg 
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese 
  • ¼ cup bacon grease, melted (or cooking fat of your choice)
  • 1 cup milk 
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 
  • ½  cup potato flakes 
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder 
  • ½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh chives (Amazon affiliate link to my favorite herb chopping scissors)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 12 well muffin pan with oil spray. Set aside.
  2. Dump the egg, ricotta, bacon grease and milk into a medium bowl.
  3. Dump the flour, potato flakes, baking powder and salt into another medium bowl. Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients, then use that whisk to combine the wet ingredients.
  4. Dump the whisked dry ingredients into the whisked wet ingredients.
  5. Scatter the fresh chives across the top of the dry ingredients, and stir with a spatula until just combined. If the batter seems too dry, add a Tablespoon or more of milk.
  6. Scoop (Amazon affiliate link to my favorite size--one scoop nicely fills my muffin pan) into prepared pan.
  7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until tops are lightly browned. Let muffins cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool a bit more. 
  8. Serve warm with butter.



#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. This month most of us independently chose to incorporate bacon in our muffins. You could almost call it a mini theme, May is Bacon Muffin Month. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page. Here's what we're cooking up this month:

11 comments:

  1. Hah....even when not using bacon bits these had bacon in them. I am cracking up that we all seemed to have bacon on the brain this month. Great idea with the stuffed potato muffins.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy,
      Thanks! I got a giant bucket of bacon grease at work so I've been using it to add flavor all over the place. So, so good. Now I get to use up 2 things--chives and bacon grease--so that's a win for my thrifty heart.

      Delete
  2. So basically a deconstructed baked potato muffin! I love it, Kirsten. I'll bet those teachers were drooling all over you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stacy,
      Pretty much, yes--and I like your way of thinking!
      I'm really not interested in anyone--not my kids, nor their teachers--drooling all over me.
      Except Robert Barker. He's allowed to drool all over me any time his doggy heart desires.

      Thanks for hosting us!

      Delete
  3. I love using potato flakes in bread. It keeps it so moist. As for chives, they (and rosemary) it's the only herb I can seem to keep alive no matter how I neglect it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen,
      I know I'm supposed to save potato water for bread, but I never seem to remember. Flakes are easy, though, I buy a box for lefse and don't use it all and have the spare cup available.
      You're lucky with rosemary--I grew a single plant happily in my raised bed in Virginia for years, but here in Ohio I've killed about a rosemary plant a year. They've frozen to death during the winter, I've brought them inside and neglected to water them . . . you name it.
      Hope springs eternal, though, there's a plant outside my kitchen door again this Spring.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  4. These are just gorgeous - what a fantastic addition to any meal!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebekah,
      They were delicious with the stew--just the ticket for a warm buttery bread, and so quick!
      Thanks for your kind words!

      Delete
  5. And now I have a way to use all those potato flakes I bought last Fall. Score. Now if only I can find some time to cook....maybe, things are getting more manageable here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      You have potato flakes too? I'm glad I'm not alone.
      You will find time to cook. Eventually. It will happen. Promise.
      In the meantime, I'm glad folks are feeding YOU!

      Delete
  6. I like your creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives. It is quiet easy to preserve and easy to made by just following these simple steps that you have posted in your content. I like the ideas and I am surely making this one at home for sure.

    http://essayrepublic.tumblr.com/

    ReplyDelete