Ricotta is a cheese I don’t get very excited about.

I mean, it is still cheese, so of course I have to love it to some degree, but it’s bland and unremarkable. I view it as a creamifier – working great with spinach, for example.

In Sicily, it is the guest star in many desserts. Used sweetened as a luscious filling, it turns up in pastries and cakes, accompanied by citrus, chocolate and nuts.

Cannoli are perhaps the most universally famous, and we had a few of these delicious crunchy creamy tubes. Then there were cakes like Cassata Siciliana – a soaked sponge cake with glacé fruits, marzipan and lots of ricotta. If you love your dairy, it’s a delicious option, but it hasn’t replaced my devotion to whipped and pastry cream.