Zesty and lightly sweet, this Persian-inspired whipped ricotta dip is incredibly easy to make with a few ingredients such as ricotta, orange, dates, and pistachios (mix-ins found in all Persian homes). Serve this dip with crostini, crackers, or toasted bread, topped with honey and pistachios. It would be a wonderful addition to a cheese board as well.
Once you make this Persian-inspired whipped ricotta dip, you’ll find it hard to make any other recipe. Just throw everything into a food processor and you have a fresh, flavorful dip that will impress anyone you serve it to.
I have clearly been on a ricotta kick recently, with my pesto ricotta pasta and ricotta persimmon crostini. Ricotta is so versatile that you can make so many recipes with it!
Persian Inspiration
My mom was born and raised in Iran, so the flavors I grew up with were centered around Persian cuisine. Our pantry always contained pistachios and dates, our fruit bowls filled with oranges. The flavors taste incredibly delicious together. Fresh, sweet, but not overpowering. Whipped ricotta is just the medium for the other ingredients!
Ingredients
- Full fat ricotta
- Milk
- Medjool dates
- Orange zest and juice
- Salt
- Pistachios
- Honey
How to make this Persian-inspired whipped ricotta dip
- Take the pits out and nubs off the dates. Zest and juice the orange.
- Add the ricotta, milk, dates, salt, orange zest, and orange juice to a food processor. Pulse until the desired consistency is reached. All the ingredients should be blended except for the dates, which will be speckled throughout the ricotta dip
Why you’ll love this whipped ricotta dip
- Easy to make (15 minutes or less)
- You haven’t tried anything like this before, and neither have the friends you will share this with
- Sweetness from natural ingredients (dates, orange, and honey)
- Very easily transportable and storable
- Perfect addition to a cheese board as a side dip
- If you are Persian, you likely have most of the ingredients already
Tips, tricks, and substitutions
- Milk is used to make the whipped ricotta more creamy. Without, the ricotta won’t fully blend. In a pinch, you can replace with a neutral oil (some extra virgin olive oils might be too strong)
- You can use any type of orange. I have used blood oranges, cara cara oranges, sumo oranges and they all taste delicious
- Dates, on the other hand, are hard to replace. Medjool dates are the softest and sweetest and go best with this. I have not tested this recipe with other types of dates.
- For a dish as simple as this one, the quality of ingredients do matter.
Lastly, if you do make this recipe (first of all, thank you!!), be sure to leave a comment and rating below! It would mean the world to me if you tagged me on Instagram or TikTok so I can see your creations. 🙂
Persian-Inspired Whipped Ricotta Dip
Ingredients
- 16 oz full fat ricotta
- 3 tablespoon milk any kind
- 4 medjool dates pitted
- ½ orange zest AND juice
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon chopped pistachos to top
- 1 tablespoon honey to top
Instructions
- Add the ricotta, orange zest, orange juice, pitted dates, milk, and salt to a food processor. Pulse for about 30 seconds until the dip is fully combined. There will still be speckles of dates when the rest of the dip has combined.
- Plate and top with chopped pistachios and a drizzle of honey.
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