I’ve been hearing for years how amazing (and easy) homemade ricotta is, and while I believed it, I didn’t buy into the superlatives until I tried it myself (in the wake of a failed goat cheese attempt) for our homemade themed cooking club meeting this month. This was faster and easier, in fact, than making yogurt (whose ease I’m endlessly advertising), and the result was so…sublime. And I mean sublime in the historical sense, the one where the object in question is so lofty and majestic as to inspire in the viewer (or taster) the idea of his own death. Yup, this stuff is powerful.
2 quarts whole milk
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
In a large pot, bring the milk, yogurt, heavy cream (if using), vinegar, and salt to a boil. Very gently boil for one to two minutes, until the milk is curdled:
Meanwhile, line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth (I just use a clean kitchen towel) and set it over a deep bowl:
Pour the milk mixture into the strainer and let drain until desired thickness is reached. Gather the cheesecloth around the curds and squeeze gently to extract any excess liquid. Makes 2 cups.
To serve with crackers: drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper.
To serve with cookies or use in cannoli or another dessert, sweeten with sugar, add mini chocolate chips if desired.
You could also, of course, use it in the traditional ricotta-ways, like in lasagna or ravioli, but it’s so unbelievably delicious homemade that it almost seems a shame not to just eat it with a spoon.
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