As I have mentioned in a previous post, the sheep’s milk ricotta at LoCanda Verde that I devoured with my parents at brunch was mindblowingly delicious. Ever since that meal, I’ve been on a mission to recreate this dish in the comfort of my own home. I present to you a re-make of LoCanda Verde’s brunch ricotta cheese!
Ingredients:
- 8 cups of whole milk
- 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 baguette
- 1 orange – 1/2 tablespoon of zest, 1/2 tablespoon of juice
- 2 tablespoons of chopped thyme
- Several tablespoons of whole milk
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of black truffle oil (purchase at a specialty grocery store…I scored a bottle at Marshall’s!)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of good quality honey
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, heat whole milk over moderately high heat. Remember to stay by the saucepan while heating the milk. You should be looking for a the surface to become foamy. If you have a cooking thermometer handy, you should look for the temperature to read between 165-185 degrees. It is critical that the milk DOES NOT boil.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vinegar and stir. The milk will curdle very quickly. Add salt and stir again.
3. Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth (some just hang over the edge). Pour the milk mixture into the colander and drain.4. Let the cheese curds sit for several minutes and squeeze the excess liquid from the cheesecloth.
5. Transfer your ricotta cheese into a serving dish and let it cool for 15 minutes or so.
6. Slice a baguette into thin slices and toast. Rub a whole orange against each slice. You will notice the zest will rub onto each slice easily.
7. Add several tablespoons of whole milk to the cooled ricotta to create some creaminess. Mix in thyme, truffle oil, honey, orange juice and zest, as well as, salt and pepper, to taste, to the ricotta cheese.8. Taste the ricotta. Add additional thyme, truffle oil, honey or orange juice based on your palette. I drizzled a little extra truffle oil and squeezed some more just to get it just right.
9. Serve to your loved ones.
As you can see, making ricotta cheese is pretty simple and tastes much fresher than what you get in the grocery store. The next time I prepare this, I plan to add in 1 cup of heavy creamy to help with the fat content and consistency of the cheese.
My version got the approval from my brother-in-law, a LoCanda Verde lover and wannabe food critic so please do try it out and if it matches up to the original with your family and friends.
The following recipe was adapted form these helpful posts:
Have you ever made an ingredient you generally buy at the grocery store, like ricotta cheese, at home? If so, what have you made?
chit. chaat. chew. 