Shrimp ricotta tortelet with poached mango

To bake this savory cheese cake has no rocket science, but the guarantee of superior flavor comes from fresh ricotta cheese. Now I'm just talking about in the States, never ever try to use store-bought ricotta regardless what the brand is. They have nothing resemble to the fresh one that I bought from an Italian grocer. Even it easily costs double than most store-bought's, with its genuine taste of premium milk and delectable creaminess, you know it worth every penny! Poached mango is a further compliment to this delicate tortelet, so I have no intention to add a crust, but please do so if it fits your taste. And feel free to replace the specified vegetable with aspargus, mushroom or even fresh peas when they're in season.

Recipe (yield 5 muffin-size tortelet)

• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbps fresh ricotta
• 1 Tpb Parimigiano-Reggiano
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbps butter
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1/4 cup zucchini, diced
• 1/4 cup leek, diced
• 1/4 cup shrimps, diced
• 3 sun dried tomatoes, blanched, diced
• salt
• white pepper
• for poaching mango: 1 large mango*, white wine, water, Damerara sugar
• for garnish: mint leaves and chopped pistachio

*the mango I bought is import from Peru, which is firmer but less sweet than the ones I found in Asia Direction:

• My fresh ricotta comes with a container that already has drain hole, so the cheese is already drained pretty good. Or you can lay a piece of cheese cloth over a sieve, place ricotta on the cheese cloth, cover the top, let it drain overnight.
• Push ricotta through a fine sieve so that it'll be smoother. Combine it with Parmigano-Reggiano and eggs. Set aside. In the meantime pre-heat the oven to 350F.
• Pre-heat a skillet, melt the butter, add shallot, zucchini and leeks, add a pinch of salt, brown them for 1 minute, add shrimp, tomatoes and a dash of white pepper, turn the heat off (the shrimps don't need to be cooked as they will be baked later). Set them aside and let cool off a bit.
• Line the muffin-tray with parchment paper or use muffin cup. Combine the cheese mixture with the shrimp mixture, spoon them into the tray, bake for 15 minutes. During baking, proceed poaching mango
• Peel the mango, remove the big seed, slice into strips. Bring some water and white wine (1:1) to simmer, add sugar (adjust the amount according to how sweet your wine and your mango). Put the mango in and poach until it slightly soft. Mine took 5 minutes.
• Once the tortlets are done, place them on a serving place, spoon poached mango on the side, garnish with mint leaves and chopped pistachio. Serve hot.

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