Rich Ricotta Cheese

Not a good picture but these bruschettas were sooo good. One of my Monday night ladies remarked that they couldn't stop eating them. Me neither. 

Ask me what I did yesterday...please. "Oh, you know, the usual - made beds, grocery shopped, dropped off stuff for the cleaners, made cheese." MADE CHEESE!!!! I feel like it wouldn't be too much more amazing if I claimed I'd made a tree. Except a tree wouldn't have tasted as good.

I don't like cheesecake at all and, for years, I wouldn't eat anything remotely resembling the texture and taste of this popular with everyone else dessert. Then I realized I love ricotta cheese, in spite of the fact that it can have the same texture as the previously loathed cheesecake. Don't ask me to explain how this works, just know that I could eat ricotta straight out of the container.

After reading something on this blog about my love affair with ricotta, Emily reminded me that Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for making your own cheese. And that's how I came to yesterday and my very first attempt to whip up some homemade ricotta.

It seems like you'd have to go through a way more difficult and arduous process to make cheese but this recipe couldn't be simpler, in terms of ingredients and directions. Really, the only "tricky" part is making sure you have cheese cloth on hand, as well as plenty of time to wait on the process of cheesing to occur.

Emily promised that the homemade version of ricotta would be way better than anything you buy in a store and she was right. I used mine to make some bruschetta appetizers for my Monday night ladies group but I did set some aside to use as Deb suggests - spread on bread with honey.

So, bottom line, this recipe is simple and simply amazing.

Rich Ricotta Cheese
From Smitten Kitchen
Makes about 1 generous cup of ricotta

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Turn off the heat [Updated] Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. (It will firm as it cools, so do not judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.) Discard the whey, or, if you’re one of those crafty people who use it for other things, of course, save it. Eat the ricotta right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve: On 1/2-inch slices of baguette that have been run under the broiler until lightly bronzed. Serve it simply with honey and a pinch of flaky sea salt, a couple grinds of black pepper, pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil, and/or a few droplets of an aged balsamic.

HOW I SERVED MINE  - TOMATO RICOTTA BRUSCHETTA
From Simple Healthy Kitchen
Ingredients
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup finely chopped spinach leaves
2 Tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves
1 Tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 baguette French bread or similar artisan country bread, cut in ½ inch thick slices (8-10 slices)
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, spinach, basil and chives. Stir to combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Toast bread, in a toaster or under the broiler in the oven ( or on the grill if you like), until golden brown. Rub toast vigorously with whole raw garlic clove. The rough surface of the bread helps shave the garlic clove. (approx. 2-3 strokes per slice of bread, add more or less to taste). Drizzle or brush top side of toast with olive oil.
Assemble bruschetta by layering each piece of toast with ricotta mixture, and sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with snipped chives and chopped basil.