Recipe - Fresh Ricotta

1 ga Whole milk
1/3 cup Plus 1 teaspoon white
vinegar
One half teaspoon Salt

The Italian cooking classes I've been taking are great, but the teacher
doesn't want us to share her recipes because she's working on publishing a
cookbook. It's been so hard for me to not send the recipes we've been
creating along to you. I can't stand it anymore, so I'll just have to trust
all you fine folks to NOT publish this recipe. I haven't seen this in any
of the cookbooks I own.

In a large nonreactive pan, heat the milk on mediumhigh heat to 185
degrees F. I use a candy thermometer. Stir the milk from time to time; be
sure it doesn't begin to stick and burn on the bottom. As soon as the
temperature is reached, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the
vinegar and salt. Keep stirring for one minute. Now, this looks like a
Culinary Disaster at this point. The curds separate from the whey; not a
pretty sight. Cover the pot with a clean towel, and leave to cool
unattended for either overnight or while you're at work. Then strain the
mixture by pouring through a fineholed colander. This can be lined with
cheesecloth or not; I don't usually bother with the cheesecloth. Let it
drain; press slightly to dry the ricotta to desired dryness. Refrigerate.
Makes four cups; keeps about a week in the refrigerator. Doesn't freeze
well.

Now, this is truly wonderful stuff. I'll never purchase ricotta from the
little cartons in the grocery again. I have used it to prepare ricotta pie,
stuffed manicotti, cream puff filling, cannoli filling, lasagne, and
ricotta gnocchi, to name a few. Processed until smooth, it's great as a
base for any kind of dip for fresh vegetables. Yesterday I made a food
processor sort of green goddess salad dressing with ricotta, parsley,
anchovies, ground black pepper, and loads of garlic with red wine vinegar,
olive oil and freshly grated romano. It's also great on freshly baked bread
in the morning instead of butter.

You might ask, could I use lowfat milk? The answer...no. Limit your
portions, but use whole milk. It's the wonderful sweet flavor and the
texture that suffer from using lowfat milk. By all means, try this recipe;
it's just great.

I'll credit my wonderful teacher, Grace Pilato...who is also a master
potter and a swell human being.

Posted to FOODWINE Digest by Gretl Collins gyc1@PSU.EDU on Apr 13, 1998