Homemade Ricotta

Adapted from a recipe by 'Not Quite Nigella'. Makes 1/3 cup. Note: double or triple the recipe to get a higher yield. To Serve: Store ricotta in the fridge and use it as a spread on bread or pancakes, in pasta dishes, to make falafel, or sweetened for baking. Whatever you do, don’t throw out your whey! Freeze or refrigerate it, and use it to make mayonnaise, sauerkraute, or add it to your smoothies for extra protein.

Tori Blake (Nutritionist)ToriBlake (Nutritionist)

Ingredients:

• 500 ml good quality whole milk
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

• In a saucepan, add milk and salt and gently heat until it is almost boiling (but not quite). Keep a close eye on it to ensure it does not boil and overflow.
• Remove milk from the heat, and stir in lemon juice.
• Allow mixture to rest for 10 minutes.
• Pour mixture through a straining cloth (muslin cloth, cheesecloth, a (clean!) thin tea towel, or an un-used chux cloth) and into a bowl (I’ve been known to use pegs to secure my cloth over the top of the bowl). The liquid whey will drip into the bowl beneath, and the curdles – the ricotta – will remain in the cloth.
• Allow ricotta to strain for at least 30 minutes, or until desired consistency is achieved.