QUICK HOMEMADE RICOTTA + A LEMONY GARDEN PASTA

I hear the old lock click as the gate to our backyard squeaks open. Footsteps cross the gravel. The garage door springs open wide as Otis tucks his bike away for the afternoon. Backpack strapped on, my thirteen year old marches through the back door chittering and chattering about his life. I especially love it when the first words from his mouth spill out stories about what they cooked in Kitchen that day.

Otis's after-school tales seem to begin mid sentence, as if he is simply continuing our conversation left dangling that morning. It usually takes me a minute of two before I get the gist of what he's telling me, "...food science...heat and acid...so easy..." When I finally realize that Otis and his classmates had made ricotta that day and that he wanted to make it with me, "Of course, I'd love to!" I answer and we make ricotta right then and there.

Otis and I first made ricotta together a month or so ago and he was right - it is ridiculously easy to make and totally empowering for any do-it-yourselfer. Have you made your own ricotta? I'm guessing a lot of you have, but for those of you who haven't...you must give it a go!

QUICK RICOTTA inspired by the Edible Schoolyard
printable recipe

• 2 cups whole milk
• generous pinch of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pour milk into a non-reactive saucepan. Add a pinch of sea salt. Bring milk to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scalding. When the milk comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice, and stir very gently until curdles begin to separate (this should take less than a minute). Let the milk mixture sit in the pan for 5 minutes.

Finally, pour your milky mixture (curds and whey) through a cheesecloth stretched over the top of a bowl. Discard the excess liquid. (Save the liquid (whey) to use in your next batch of porridge, smoothie, biscuits, pancakes, etc... or if you're like my friend Margi, you can take a bath in the stuff;))

You can serve the ricotta immediately or let it continue to strain for up to an hour depending on how dry you like your ricotta.

That's it. Ricotta done!

There are all sort of wonderful resources for making ricotta.  If you want to read more, check here, here and here...

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LEMONY GARDEN PASTA WITH FRESH RICOTTA
printable recipe

We were in Bolinas staying at my mom's over the long weekend and Otis and I made another batch of ricotta yesterday morning. I decided to make an early lunch putting our fresh cheese to good use. Mom had broccoli sprouting in her garden, lemons finally ripening on her tree, and we had ricotta.... a bright, lemony veggie pasta seemed the thing.

• 6 loosely packed cups broccoli florets (I think asparagus could be wonderful in this pasta in the spring time)
• 1/3 cup good olive oil + a drizzle for serving
• sea salt
• 1 package dry pasta of your choice {GF folks: I used Bionaturae spaghetti}
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• handful toasted pine nuts
• ground black pepper
• red pepper flakes 
• fresh ricotta (see recipe above)
• optional: broccoli blossoms

Heat pasta water in a large stockpot. Add plenty of salt until it tastes like sea water.

Blanch your broccoli florets in the hot pasta water. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vibrant, tender veg and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Toss broccoli with 1/3 cup olive oil and salt generously to taste. Set aside.

Return the water to a boil and cook the pasta until tender. While pasta is cooking, zest and juice lemons and set aside.

Add pasta to the broccoli florets, toss and immediately add pine nuts, lemon zest and juice to the mix. Season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. If you think it needs it, add a little more lemon juice. Give the whole thing a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, if you like a little spice. Finally scatter fresh ricotta onto the pasta and give the whole dish another drizzling of olive oil. Add a few broccoli blossoms if you've got them.

Serve pasta warm or at room temp.

Feeds 4.

super-fast super-good ricotta and sopressata, first course or appetizer

Ingredients listed below are approximate, depends on
how much you have on hand or how much you buy or how
many you are feeding.


2-3 cups freshest ricotta cheese
3/4 cup finely diced sopressata or any good
hard or semi-hard salami
1 cup sauteed walnut halves
[saute walnuts in mixture of butter
walnut or olive oil until medium brown,
salt and let cool]
sea salt and pepper

Very lightly toss ricotta with salami, salt and ground pepper to taste
Put in round or square bowl and edge bowl with walnut halves.
Grind a little black pepper on top to prettify. Store any unusued
walnuts, they come in handy for lots of dishes [like pasta].

This dish is great as a first course with a platter of 6 oz prosciutto, and
a 5 ounces each of other Italian cold meats sliced thin. Add slices of
buffala mozzarella [8oz] and garnish with spinach leaves or parsley.

Depending on how many and how plentiful the ingredients, serves
4 to 6