Ricotta you little beauty!

At the risk of this blog sounding like a homage to Martha Stewart I am going out on a limb here, to share a new recipe.  A ricotta cheese recipe.  If you have ever lived in a place like Korea, where cheese is the word they use to refer to some rubbery, flavourless, pre-sliced processed squares that quite literally leave a bad taste in your mouth, then you be more able to appreciate this post.  Especially if you are as addicted to cheese as I am.

It all started a few weeks ago, when I wanted to make a veggie lasagna (GREAT! Now it really does sound like Martha could be my homie*).  I needed some ricotta for the recipe and couldn't find it in the supermarket, being Korea and all.  So after asking online where I could find some a real South African tannie told me how easy it was to make. And it REALLy is this easy!  So for a more precise recipe, with measurements and detailed instructions you can find it easily on the web.  Otherwise just have a look at what I did...

You will need:
Milk - a guess I used about 1L
Cream - (is optional...my dieting self left it out)
1 (biggish) lemon
a cheese cloth (or some material that you could strain through)
and about 35minutes.

Bring the milk (and cream, if you so choose) to a slow boil.
Don't full on get it bubbling over, and remember to stir it regularly.
Let it boil for a minute or 2, and then turn the heat off, totally.

        

Squeeze the juice from one lemon into the hot milk.  You could also use vinegar, but I like the tangy aftertaste.

The acidity of the lemon will get the process going.  All you have to do is sit and wait.  It takes about 15minutes I guess.  I'm not too sure because I got sucked into an episode of 'House' and lost track of time.  You will now it is done when it looks a little something like what babies burp up. YUM!! ;)







Pour the liquid through your cheesecloth (the tannie also said you can use a stocking), to separate the curds and the whey.  (Don't know how little miss Muffet could have eaten that!!)
The longer you strain it for the more solid the cheese gets    - duh! -
But if you prefer something more like a cottage cheese strain it for a shorter amount of time.  You can also mix in herbs if you like.

The end product should look something like this. Yummy, homemade ricotta cheese!!  Now all I need is a bagel!!














*"homie" is a word that Martha pickup up in prison.  Before that she would simply say "friend".