Make your own Ricotta..? Yes Please!!

Who doesn't love cheese? It's the best snack in the world!!  It brings back so many memories of me as a kid coming home from school and cutting up a block of cheese, putting it on top of a triscuit with some spicy mustard or one of my dad's famous canned banana peppers and chowing down! Though blocked cheese is a constant in my dairy drawer I have recently ventured out and started making my own. For a first timer I began with a pretty simple recipe making the soft and creamy cows milk cheese Ricotta! There are multiple recipe's out there for Ricotta some quicker than others. I chose an easy recipe but with a longer wait time. My motto was "all good things come to those who wait" and boy it did!

The Ricotta came out light and fluffy with a mild flavor. I spread mine over grilled ciabatta bread and topped with grilled zucchini and basil oil. It was a perfect compliment to our Sunday dinner of bacon wrapped filet's, crisp white wine and the warm spring evening air as we dined alfresco! 

Heres how I made my own Ricotta, it's a simple recipe but does have a days wait time so take that into consideration when you begin. 

A few things you will need for this recipe that you might not have around the house:

• Cheesecloth - you can find this at a Bed Bath and Beyond and some local grocery stores
• Heavy bottomed sauce pan - I used my dutch oven
• Candy thermometer or digital thermometer  

Recipe:

4 cups - whole milk
1 1/4 cups - heavy cream
1 tsp - salt
1/4 cup - lemon juice (fresh squeezed)

Place all ingredients into a heavy bottomed sauce pot or dutch oven. Bring your ingredients up to 200 degrees. Turn off your heat and cover. Place in an area where the temp stays the same. I put mine in my oven. Let sit for 6 hours. After the 6 hours remove lid you will see your curds and whey.

Place your cheesecloth over a bowl and pour your mixture into the cloth. lift up your cheesecloth and let the liquid strain through. You are going to let your cheese strain over night so find a place where you can hang your cloth. I tied mine around the faucet of my kitchen sink so it could strain directly down the drain.

                                                                                                                                                                        

      After you let your cheese strain over night open up your cheese cloth and you will have homemade Ricotta! Wrap in plastic film or place in an air tight container and refrigerate. From here you can do whatever you would like with your cheese. If you want to make into a fresh spring bruschetta like I did it's really simple.
First slice up some fresh bread (I used ciabatta) brush with good olive oil and a little salt. Grill on both sides of the bread until warm and crispy. While you are grilling the bread you will also want to grill your zucchini. Slice your zucchini length wise into about 1/4 in thick pieces. brush with good olive oil and salt and pepper each side. Place on grill for about 3 minutes on each side just enough to get some nice grill marks. Take your bread and zucchini off the grill. Spread your Ricotta over the bread and place the zucchini on top. Drizzle with basil oil.

Basil Oil:

1 cup - fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup - olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

Blanch your basil leaves in boiling water just for about 1 minute. Place in a bowl of ice water immediately after. This will keep the nice bright green color. Drain your basil leaves and put in a blender with olive oil and salt. Blend until smooth.

                     Now I know this doesn't look as put together as some of my other foods but believe me the flavor makes up for it! A perfect side dish or appetizer for any grill out!!

Happy Eatings!!!!

Tips:
Add fresh chopped herbs to your ricotta to add flavor or you could mix with some goat cheese and stuff in pasta shells!