Sformato di Ricotta e Erbe Selvatiche Friulano
Friuli-Venezia Giulia — spring seasonal, rural Friuli tradition
Baked ricotta and wild herb timbale from Friuli — a spring preparation using freshly foraged wild herbs (wild garlic, young nettles, sorrel, chives, and borage) combined with fresh sheep's or cow's milk ricotta and eggs into a baked sformato (moulded savory flan). The herbs are blanched briefly and squeezed, then chopped and folded into the ricotta-egg mixture. Baked in individual ramekins in a bain-marie. Served as a starter on a pool of blended herb oil. The wild herbs make this emphatically a spring dish; cultivated herbs produce a mild but less character-filled result.