Magical homemade ricotta
Experimenting led to some creative herb and garlic, or chili and onion varieties. But I forgot all about it once we got to the Philippines where cheese could be purchased easily.
Retirement has given me time to again try my hand, and I have become a big fan of homemade ricotta. Quick and easy to make, versatile and packed with calcium and protein, you can use it in lasagna, smoothies or spread on toast. Most recipes calling for cottage cheese can be successfully made with ricotta instead.
Or use it to make this gorgeous one-pot pasta meal that begs your creativity. Sailors can add their harvest of cooked shrimp, fish or crab, or serve it alongside barbequed salmon. We haven’t tried it but I bet quality canned salmon would work well if you are a frustrated fisher like me.
Galley slaves are inventive and can make-do with whatever is in the ship’s store. I’m sure you can make this with store-bought lemon juice in a pinch, or add spinach or peas at the end, maybe mushrooms, even canned…use your imagination!
It’s a quick throw together meal that is impressive enough to serve when entertaining.
ONE-POT LEMON RICOTTA PASTA
- Penne but really, any pasta will do (enough for four sailors)
- 1 cup of pasta water reserved when straining
- 1cup ricotta (recipe for easy homemade ricotta follows below)
- 1 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- Zest and juice from one large or 2 small lemons
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Red-pepper flakes to taste
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Be sure to reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and set aside in colander. (To save fuel I boil rapidly for about a minute then cover the pot and turn off the propane). Let it sit, covered for about 8 to 10 minutes.
To make the sauce in the same pot, add the ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and stir until combined. Add ½ cup pasta water to the sauce and stir until smooth. Add the pasta and stir until the noodles are well coated. Add more of the pasta cooking water as needed. If adding pre-cooked seafood do so at this time so it doesn’t get broken up with stirring. Same with spinach or cooked mushrooms.
Divide the pasta among bowls and top with some of the sauce that’s pooled at the bottom of the pot. Garnish with grated Parmesan, black pepper, red-pepper flakes and fresh basil, if you happen to have any.
Serves four.
EASY PEASY RICOTTA
This recipe will yield about 1 cup of cheese.
- 3 cups milk (DO NOT USE ultra pasteurized milk/UHT in tetra packs)
- 1 cup cream, either light or heavy cream, both work
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, strained. Or substitute with white vinegar; works just fine
NOTE: if you don’t have cream on hand you can make it with just milk, it will just be less creamy. I have even made it all from powdered milk, adding a bit more milk powder than instructed to make the milk creamier.
Bring the milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Burnt milk on the bottom of the pan will flavour the ricotta. The milk should get very steamy, frothing around the edges and begin to boil. If it accidentally does boil for a moment, it still seems to work for me.
Turn off the heat and immediately add the lemon juice and salt. Stir only once or twice to distribute. The mixture will start to curdle. Do not stir. Let it sit (untouched) for 15 minutes. Small and large curds will float to the surface.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the curds into a strainer to drain. Most recipes instruct you to use a cheese cloth liner in the sieve but I have not done that for a while and it works fine as the contact time is very brief.
Strain into a large bowl once at room temperature, for about 10-15 minutes for light and fluffy ricotta. The ricotta will get more firm in the refrigerator; take this into account when estimating your straining time. The longer you drain it, the firmer and drier it will be.
The leftover whey can be used to make bread, biscuits, smoothies, added to soup etc.
Place the ricotta into an air-tight container. Store in the fridge, for up to four days.
Enjoy!
