A Recipe for Broiled Ricotta Cheese With Brown-Butter Mushrooms From Ox Restaurant in Portland, Ore.

A Recipe for Broiled Ricotta Cheese With Brown-Butter Mushrooms From Ox Restaurant in Portland, Ore.

Chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton serve up this take on Argentine provoleta. Their recipe calls for broiling rich ricotta cheese until browned and bubbly, then topping it with sautéed shiitake mushrooms and an umami-rich brown-butter vinaigrette

The Chefs: Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton

 

Their Restaurant: Ox, in Portland, Ore.

What They Are Known For: A combination of Argentine-style grill mastery and classical French training. Redefining the steakhouse with Latin American inspiration and the finest Pacific Northwest produce.

 

 

IS THERE ANYTHING better than melted cheese? In Argentina, they take rounds of provoleta, the local version of provolone, and grill them over a live fire. Once the cheese browns, it’s often moved to a casserole dish, where it bubbles away until heated through and oozy. When chefs Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton and Greg Denton opened their Argentine-inflected restaurant, Ox, in Portland, Ore., they knew they had to put some version of this molten treat on the menu.

“It started with provoleta, and then I remember saying, ‘It’s good, but as soon as it cools down it’s hard for people to eat,’ ” said Mr. Denton. Ms. Denton added, “We wanted to make sure the last bite is as good as the first.” After some experimentation, they hit upon this dish, their third Slow Food Fast recipe: creamy ricotta, broiled and topped with seared mushrooms and a brown-butter vinaigrette.

At Ox, they make a rich ricotta daily, especially for this dish. To get a similar result at home, buy the freshest ricotta you can find, preferably one made without stabilizers; their addition can mean that the cheese wasn’t properly strained and will therefore produce a watery result. And this is no time to opt for low-fat: The higher the fat content, the creamier the final product. Under the broiler, the cheese’s top will brown and blister while its interior relaxes into custardy lushness. Because you’ll want to scoop up every last bit, be sure to serve with plenty of toasted bread.

—Kitty Greenwald in the Wall Street Journal