Homemade Ricotta- Savory or Sweet!

 I have this weird habit of making things that I don't really care for, simply because I see a gorgeous photograph and it makes me want it anyway. Doesn't make much sense, does it? But sometimes the results are lovely. Take ricotta for example. If you just said, "No, spank you, I'd rather not," I'd totally understand. I've used store bought ricotta in lasagna and it was fine, but it is not something I just want to snack on. Till now...

Last summer I saw a picture of a crusty slice of bread. It was spread with homemade ricotta, then topped with fresh cherries and drizzled with honey. Doesn't that intrigue your taste buds? However, they did this weird sweet/savory thing where they added chopped green onions and sliced radish. Gak!!! But somehow that drizzled cherry idea stuck with me all year.

Next thing I knew, I was grocery shopping and saw glistening bags of deeply wine-colored cherries. My hands involuntarily reached out and snagged a bag as I went by. I told myself that they are a worthy splurge since they have such a brief season. Plus, I was already envisioning them nesting on a fancy looking bruschetta...

At another separate time, I found a recipe for ricotta. I only pulled it out because it was the first step to making ricotta gnocchi. That was something I put "on the back burner" to think on for a while. But now that I had cherries, I dug it out. The recipe wasn't super simple. And it called for rennet. You may have your eyebrows up about your hairline wondering what that could be, but it's not so weird. Nah. It's just the enzymes from a baby calf's stomach that are used to help curdle milk and create cheese. And yes, for your information, I had some in my cabinet. (Hey, my boys worked on making homemade mozzarella for a while, way back when. I'm not that strange.) 

But I seemed to remember reading about a little old lady in Italy who used lemon juice to curdle her fresh sheep's milk and make a ricotta that she sold door to door. Upon looking up the words simple ricotta recipe with lemon juice, I found one with only 4 ingredients. Now we were cooking with gas (quite literally)! I had all the necessaries, and within about 20 minutes (3 cooking, and the rest draining) I had ricotta ready to eat! The recipe will be at the bottom. The only things I did differently was add a touch more lemon juice to be certain the milk was firmly curdling (sounds appetizing, doesn't it?). And I didn't have cheesecloth to strain it, so I used my honey strainer. I have used this for a million things other than honey and it is fantastic! When I make Wild Sumac Lemonade in the summer I don't know how I would ever strain out all the little hairy strands without it.

So, I had my beautiful ball of fresh cheese. I squeezed it till it was very nice and dry; I didn't want it sitting in a puddle of whey. Then I cautiously tasted it. It made me think of fresh mozarella cheese, which I love! Only this has a more crumbly, spreadable texture. It was very subtle, basically just a creamy carrying agent for other flavors- think sour cream or cream cheese and how versatile they are. I also happened to have some leftover homemade Artisan Bread. This is the most delicious, crusty, beautifully textured bread- and you don't really do anything to it! You let the dough sit on the counter overnight and then you bake it. For the full details see here- Overnight Artisan Bread. Really, please try this. It looks so impressive, tastes amazing, and you don't have to expend any effort. How can you get better than that? Well, you can't, that's all. If you are desperate to eat this as soon as your ricotta is ready, I don't blame you. Get one of those bake-at-home baguettes at the grocery store. You just want good, crusty bread.

So, I toasted my chunk of bread. I spread on some ricotta. I topped with cherries that I just halved to pop out the seeds. In place of the onions, I thinly chopped fresh mint from my garden. Then I drizzled it all over with my very own honey. It looked gorgeous. It smelled great. So how would it taste after thinking about it all that time?

Oh, my word. It was divine. The ricotta was just a cool creaminess that really went well with the firm bite of the fresh cherries. The cherries leaked out their delicious juices and stained the ricotta, spreading their flavor. I added the mint thinking that might be a bit much. But no, it would not be nearly as delightful without it. Who knew that cherries and mint were so good together? And the honey? Well, I just kept drizzling more. This was a seriously good snack. Then I had it again for breakfast the next day. Very simple, and simply luscious!

So then I got to thinking. (I can hear you groaning.) But I was thinking that ricotta is generally seen in savory dishes. And it was so good on that homemade bread... 

I had seen a mouthwatering picture of an open-face tomato sandwich with nothing but homemade bread and a thin layer of homemade mayonnaise. What if that was ricotta instead, but seasoned up with salt and lots of pepper? Maybe even a touch of chopped chives for a garlicky-onion flavor? I have a glorious array of 22 different tomato plants in my garden, ranging from pale yellow to striped green, through orange, to bright red and even purple. 

So I spread my bread with seasoned ricotta, layered it with tomatoes, and substituted shredded basil for the mint that was so wonderful before. What about my honey drizzle that added a needed moisture to the dry cheese? I subbed olive oil. Voila! (A French expression used to call attention to something completed to a state of satisfaction. You're welcome.) The savory side of homemade ricotta!  

Now I know how easy it is to make, I can do it anytime. But I don't think I will make this as often in the cooler weather. It just lends itself so well to the freshness of garden produce and fruits.  Hmm, unless I decide to make ricotta gnocchi. I'll let you know if that happens!

I found my recipe here- https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fresh-homemade-ricotta-234282 , but their recipe makes 2 cups. That would be great if I was making lasagna or gnocchi, but I just wanted enough for me to enjoy on a couple slices of bread. So I cut the amounts down a ton- say from 2 qts milk to 2 cups. Here's my recipe, it makes a bit less than 1/2 cup ricotta.

Bring 2 cups of milk, 1/4 cream, and 1/8 tsp salt to a rolling boil over med heat. Stir in 1Tbsp of lemon juice (or white vinegar). Turn the heat down to high simmer for 5-7 minutes, till curdled. 

Pour the mixture into a sieve with several layers of cheesecloth, or a honey net. I squeezed mine down into a lump at the bottom (careful, its HOT!). Then I tied it over the faucet to finish draining for a few minutes. Moma said that when Grandma Betty used to make cottage cheese she hung the bag over the clothesline :)

I gently squeezed it again before I took it out. Season or use as is, or refrigerate for up to 2 days. Enjoy!