We saw this dish at a Sicilian market in Palermo where a father and son were baking fresh ricotta in a tiny oven; the aroma of roasting onions and rosemary was enough to draw a crowd. It seemed such a simple idea and I couldn’t wait to get home to try it. It’s a brilliant recipe I keep returning to when I have people coming round. Buy the ricotta in one of those small plastic tubs to get the shape. If you can’t find one like this, drain the ricotta through a sieve if it is very wet and then find a small tub with sloping sides and press the ricotta into it to work as a mould.

Change the herbs according to what you have – fresh or dried rosemary, thyme and sage transform the ricotta from bland to sublime. Serve the ricotta with toasted low carb crackers, sticks of vegetables or petals of chicory or baby lettuce.

Prepare the ricotta with the flavourings and keep in the fridge; 20 minutes before your guests arrive pop it in the oven to bake. They will walk into the aroma of a Sicilian market!