Grilled Bread........yes today I am sharing a recipe for toast 😉 Luckily toast isn't the star of the show. The star of this platter is the creamy rich homemade ricotta. Homemade ricotta is delicious and you can whip up a batch in about 25 minutes but for 20 of those you can leave the ricotta and get on with something else.
I really urge you to try this, it is truly amazing! I love the way the curds form and you get cheese! Homemade cheese! Honestly even if you just do it for fun, please try it!
I suppose you could make this with shop bought ricotta but I promise you, making ricotta is easier than finding a parking space at the shops. What is more, you probably have the ingredients in the fridge/pantry right now! Otherwise I guess you'll have to find a parking space anyway and then you could just buy ricotta 😉 but you would be missing out on the creamy rich taste and the knowledge that you have made cheese! AND you can control the texture of your ricotta, if you want a very soft ricotta for spreading then you leave it to drain for less time, if you want a very dry crumbly ricotta for pizza then drain it well and squeeze out the remaining whey.
The key to a ricotta is the acid you add to the milk, you need enough to start the process but if you add too much you get a vinegar tang to your cheese. I like to use apple cider vinegar, but this will work with white vinegar or white wine vinegar, even lemon juice will produce ricotta. After heating the milk you need to add 5% by volume, of vinegar.
Example:
1 litre of milk = 1000ml
5% of 1000 = 1000 * 0.05 = 50
So for 1 litre of milk you need to add 50ml of vinegar.
The quantities I have given below make about 350g of ricotta. If you remember the rule of 5% acidity then you can make any amount of ricotta you like. Last week I made a small amount to put on a pizza, so I just used 250ml of milk.
Today we enjoyed the ricotta drizzled with olive oil, scattered with fresh herbs and a generous sprinkle of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. It was delicious with the grilled bread. 😉 I used fresh thyme in my dish, but mix it up and add your favourite herb. Make sure you use a good quality olive oil as the olive oil soaks into everything, so you want a tasty oil.
The by-product of making ricotta is whey, the watery part of the milk. I like to use it when I make bread as it gives my bread a slight sour-dough taste, it is also delicious used to make stock. Apparently people use it in the garden but that is definitely not my area of expertise!!!!
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Saturday Afternoon Platter - Homemade Ricotta and Grilled Bread
Ingredients
- 2 L full fat milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 ml apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Pour the milk in a large saucepan and stir in the salt.
- Heat the milk over a medium heat until it is just starting to boil. Stir it occasionally to stop it burning to the bottom of your pan.
- Remove from the heat and pour the apple cider vinegar around in a spiral.
- Stir gently and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the curds to form.
- Place a sieve over a bowl and line with a clean tea towel (in the past I have used a new j-cloth)
- Slowly pour the curds and whey through your sieve.
- Allow it to stand for 5 - 15 minutes and then refrigerate until needed.
Notes
Then I drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled over fresh thyme and seasoned it generously with salt and cracked black pepper. And of course don't forget the toast grilled bread.
Amy says
Have you ever made this with goat milk? There is a goat farm near me and I have been wanting to try.
Claire McEwen says
I haven't but I do know a friend who did and she said it worked really well and was actually creamier than the cows milk version. Hope that helps
[email protected] says
This is just like Our Indian Cheese Paneer. Nice and easy. I prepare it all the time, except I add lime juice instead of vinegar.
Claire McEwen says
Ooooh, I have never made paneer. Will have to check it out 🙂
Carla Luppi says
Hi Claire. I came across this recipe by chance and I like the idea to make my own ricotta: I am
Italian, and I like ricotta cheese, so I will definitely have a go. Thank you to share it with us
Claire McEwen says
Thank you for your comment 🙂
I hope you enjoy it, it is so simple to make and tastes so much better than the processed supermarket stuff!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
I can see why you make it every Friday, it looks amazing!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Lauren. It is so easy to knock up a batch. Definitely easier than taking two kids around the supermarket!
[email protected] says
Just ordinary milk? Not unhomogensied?
Claire McEwen says
Yes, just normal 'buy in the supermarket' milk 🙂
I always use full fat milk as we aren't a high-low buying family.
[email protected] says
What? It's that easy???? I'm making it THIS WEEKEND!!
Claire McEwen says
I know, the first time I made it I was so excited and shocked by how simple it was. I felt like a kitchen chemist 🙂
Michelle @ foodie cravings says
Oh wow I did not know that it was this easy!! Thanks Claire, I nearly bought ricotta from the shops last night but only wanted a small quantity. I've got milk and apple cider vinegar so I'll be making my own now - cheers for the recipe
Claire McEwen says
Thank you, I am so glad you found this recipe.
I love how simple it is. And like you say when you just need a small amount you can make up a batch and don't have to hit the shops.
Natalie says
This looks so good! I need to try this immediately.
Claire McEwen says
It is such a great feeling when you make it. I get so excited to see my own cheese!
And the taste is so much better than anything you can buy in the store.
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
I made homemade ricotta once, many years ago. I've forgotten how easy it is, although I do remember the taste being fantastic. Thanks for the reminder...I'll need to give this a try!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you for stopping by.
I hope you enjoy it, the taste knocks the socks off shop bought ricotta.
Amanda Reid says
Wow who would have known it was so straight forward, will have to try that...would it work with a balsamic vinegar Claire or would that be no good?
Claire McEwen says
I have never tried it with balsamic vinegar Amanda, but I think it would work as you just need the acidity to curdle the milk. Flavour wise you don't get an over powering taste of vinegar, just a sort of tang, so I think balsamic vinegar may well taste rather nice. Although I don't know what affect the dark colour of the balsamic vinegar would have on the appearance of the ricotta. If you try it please let me know.
Just check that your balsamic vinegar isn't one that has added sugar as that will dissolve into the milk and change the taste of the cheese.....although a sweet balsamic vinegar made ricotta spooned onto fresh strawberries sounds rather good 🙂