I’ve had a craving lately for spinach and ricotta. It’s an old favorite combination especially in lasagna. I’m not eating lasagna these days though I’m sure I could get some rice noodles, it wasn’t really the pasta I was desiring, however. To get my fix, I made some ricotta out of raw, local goat milk. If you haven’t made ricotta, it’s super easy with very minimal equipment needed.
Fresh Ricotta
- 1 Gallon Milk (Goat or Cow will work)
- 1 teaspoon Citric Acid dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- In a large pot, combine the milk, citric acid solution, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
- Heat the milk to between 185 and 195 degrees. Stir often to prevent scorching.
- Remove from heat when the curds and whey separate. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes, undisturbed.
- Pour the mixture into a colander lined with butter muslin. Once all the whey is poured through, carefully tie up the corners of the butter muslin. Hang the bag above a bowl (I use a cabinet door pull) and allow to drain about 30 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.
- Remove from the muslin and store in a container in the refrigerator. It is ready to eat immediately, if desired.
Note: You can easily cut this recipe in half. The whole recipe makes about a quart of finished ricotta.
The whey can be used for a multitude of things (bread baking, smoothies, soaking grains, fermentation, etc.) so don’t feel like all that extra is a waste.
As for my spinach, ricotta craving: I’ve been sauteing some onion, garlic, and spinach together in a touch of lard until the spinach wilts and then removing it from the heat. I toss in some ricotta cheese and pour it all out on a small corn tortilla. It’s not exactly a taco and there is way more filling than shell but it’s yummy and it hits all those cravings I’ve been having in a healthy way.
What’s your favorite way to eat ricotta?
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