Several weeks ago my dear friend Corrie called to let me know that she may be able to wrangle a spare ticket to the Antonio Carluccio luncheon at ANZ Pavillion at the Arts Centre. I was absolutely thrilled because Antonio is one of my all time food heroes!

After numerous phone calls and much toing and froing, the spare ticket failed to materialise. If truth were told I was a little gutted, as I was so looking forward to meeting one of Italy's great food ambassadors. Corrie could hear the disappointment in my voice, but there really was nothing she could do, as the event was fully booked and she had exhausted every possible avenue.

However, the day after the event my dear friend came bashing on my front door to with a signed copy of Simple Cooking. Not exactly lunch with Antonio, but hey a very close second.

Allora - this torta di ricotta is but the first recipe I have tried from this wonderful book. If you are a fan of Italian cooking and enjoy simple, rustic flavours then I strongly urge you to get your hands on a copy of Antonio's latest book, as you won't be disappointed.

Torta di Ricotta - Ricotta Tart

Adapted from Simple Cooking 2009

Ingredients

50g of unsalted butter

5-6 sheets of filo pastry

500g fresh ricotta cheese

120g raw caster sugar

5 organic eggs, separated

Finely grated zest of a lemon & an orange

50g of bitter chocolate, broken into small pieces



Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and grease the inside of a 25cm flan tin with some butter. Melt the remaining butter in a pan over a low heat. Line the tin with the filo pastry, brushing each sheet with some of the melted butter.

2. Put the ricotta in a bowl and loosen the texture gently with a fork. Mix in 100g of the sugar and the egg yolks followed by the grated citrus zest and the chocolate. Mix well together.

3. In a separate bowl beat the eggs whites until stiff, and then add the remaining sugar. Using a metal spoon, carefully fold this into the ricotta mixture, taking care not to loose the airiness of the whipped egg whites.

4. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly on to the filo pastry and then turn the edges over the filling. Brush the edges with the remaining melted butter and bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the filo pastry is golden. Allow to cool before serving.