Homemade ricotta is an easy creamy dream

Ricotta is one of my favourite cheeses. It’s got a creamy consistency but a milk flavour that works as a spread on a toasted baguette, a creamy pasta sauce for a low cal summery dish, or melts to a perfect consistency on pizza. I’m going through a ricotta cheese pizza kick at them moment where all my pizzas seem to come out of the oven slathered in rich ricotta, with tomato and zucchini slices (it’s not summer time at the moment I realise, but I love zucchini!). But ricotta cheese can also be used in sweet dessert dishes like an easy ricotta and blueberry parfait recipe which simply mixes the ricotta with lemon and sugar and load some blueberries on top. It’s a simple way to impress the guests, and it’s low fat :)

But making your own ricotta turns out to be not as big of an affair as I’d thought, and it can really add some depth to your dining experience. I always purchased the store bought stuff because it’s convenient and making cheese seemed like something only skilled cheese-masters know the art of. I’d be too timid to even search a recipe for homemade cheese a few months ago. That was until a friend tipped me off about how easy it was. All you need is three ingredients (milk, vinegar and salt), cheesecloth, colander, pot and spoon. My favourite method employs the trusty microwave which cuts the cooking time down plus leaves less chance to burn the milk. Added bonus!

Ricotta recipe

Ingredients – makes fist sized ball (about ½ cup)
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Mix the ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 3 minutes.

2. Take the mixture and gently stir. If you have a thermometer, test the milk. It should be 70 degrees for the milk to start separating. The milk should start becoming curds and whey, and if it’s not the case then microwave it for another 30 seconds to a minute until it reaches the right temp.

3. Using a colander, fold a cheesecloth over itself a few time get get about 4 layers. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the curds off the surface of the milk and into the colander. Cover the top with the cheesecloth and let set about five minutes (more or less if you prefer you ricotta thicker).