Homemade Ricotta

(makes about 8-10 oz)

I work for a wonderful Exhibit/ Marketing company in Philadelphia and a company motto of ours is that “Work Should Be Fun”. Last winter our fun committee, Code 10, put together an appetizer cook off competition. Sadly I didn’t win, but I made an appetizer that had my some of my coworkers raving. Once you get the hang of making homemade ricotta, the pairings are endless.

Just be careful because there’s no turning back to store bought after making this!

Ingredients:

- 6 cups whole milk (unpasteurized if possible)

- 2 cups heavy cream (unpasteurized if possible)

- 4 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

- bread and toppings of choice

Note: If you can't find unpasteurized, pasteurized is fine. Just be sure not to use ultra pasteurized.

Instructions:

In a large pot combine the milk, cream, vinegar and salt. Heat the liquid over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer. Simmer the milk for 5 minutes, until you see curds begin to form. Over a large, heatproof bowl line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth. I honestly hate how messy cheese clothes can be, so I just use a coffee filer for easy clean up! Slowly pour the mixture through the strainer and let drain for 15-20 minutes. Carefully squeeze the excess liquid from the cheesecloth/ coffee filter and transfer to bowl. Allow to cool to your desired temperature or refrigerate. You may notice some excess liquid form on top as it begins to cool and there are two ways to handle this. Mix it in if you like a thinner ricotta, or blot it with a paper towel if you like a thicker texture (my choice).

Serve with some grilled bread or on top of your favorite pasta dish. It is absolutely delightful when using it in a homemade lasagna (I recommend doubling the recipe if you go that route).

For my contest at work, I served the ricotta two ways. The first is simple, I topped the ricotta with some extra virgin olive oil and sea salt (Maldon Sea Salt Flakes are my go to - linked below) so that it could be spread over some toasted sourdough bread. The other was a more "unique" paring, topped with honey and pistachios and served with a rosemary sourdough. The options are endless. Just be sure when you serve it with bread, you toast it with a little bit of salted butter!

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links:

Maldon Sea Salt Flakes