So, it’s as good a time as any to formally announce I’ve gone rogue…. and by rogue I mean freelance. It is both exhilarating (OMG I’m my own boss!) and terrifying (OMG I’m my own boss!). On any given day I can oscillate between having too many ideas and not knowing where to begin, and getting lost going down the rabbit hole chasing one specific thread. I am still working on the slowing down thing. The one-bite-at-time thing.

I am collecting rejections. I am writing shorter to-do lists, to safeguard my satisfaction of completing them. I am giving myself pep-talks.

I am making my own ricotta like a badass who knows what she’s doing. Or, more accurately, is pretending to…

This ricotta recipe was my pep talk today, and I think it can be yours too.

Maybe it isn’t so hard. Maybe it’s more straight-forward than you think. Maybe all you need is that feeling of success when trying something new to keep propelling you forward.

Make the cheese. The cheese is your cheerleader. And also your lunch.

You Can Do It Ricotta

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You Can Do It Ricotta

Course Any

Cuisine Italian

Keyword homemade cheese, ricotta

Author adriennekatzkennedy

Equipment

• 1 fine-meshed sieve
• 1 large piece of cheesecloth (coffee filters, rubber-banned over coffee cups will work too if you can divide the liquid up evenly)
• 1 large bowl
• 1 large pot

Ingredients

• 4 cups (1L) whole milk
• 2 cups (500ml) double cream or heavy cream
• juice of 1 lemon + zest (garnish)
• 2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

• In a large pot, pour in the milk and cream and bring to a boil. As soon reaches a boil, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice followed by the salt. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool slightly. You will notice it start to form small curdles – this is what we want it to do!
• Lay your cheesecloth over your sieve, folding it over so you have 3 layers or so for the milk mixture to work its way through. Place your sieve over a large bowl, then slowly and carefully pour in your milk mixture into the cheesecloth/sieve.
• Set the bowl and mixture aside on your countertop so it can slowly begin to drain, firming up your ricotta. I left mine for two hours and found it to be a good spreadable consistency.
• Scoop up your fresh ricotta and store in a glass jar with lid or plastic airtight container in your fridge. It will keep for up to a week.
• Garnish with lemon zest when serving for a bit of flare, and remind yourself you’re the badass who made it.

*PS. To check out my freelance services visit my Services page. Thanks!