Homemade ricotta cheese

I’ve always purchased ricotta cheese in Ghana from either the supermarket or from Irene’s Homemade Pasta but stumbled upon this super easy recipe from Not Quite Nigella and just had to give it a go! Miss (nearly) Four requested mummy’s spinach and ricotta cannelloni for dinner tonight and I love it when she appreciates my cooking.

Just two easy steps, and didn’t take me much time at all. My kind of recipe! I halved it just in case it didn’t work out and it made around 250 grams of ricotta. If you want more, just double or triple it!

Recipe adapted from Not Quite Nigella

1 litre full cream milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp whipping cream (or any heavy cream)
2 tbsp white vinegar (or you can use lemon juice if you prefer)

Step 1 – Place the milk, salt and cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat until almost boiling (it needs heat to curdle properly). Then add the vinegar and stir it once or twice very gently just to distribute the vinegar (constant stirring will result in tough, rubbery curds). Simmer for 1-2 minutes and then allow to sit for 10 minutes and most of the ricotta curds will float to the top and the whey at the bottom (you can reserve the whey and use it as described in Not Quite Nigella’s post).

Step 2 – Line a sieve with two layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl to drain or you can use a fine sieve to drain it as the ricotta curds are quite large and creamy. Gently pour the ricotta mixture through the cheesecloth and the whey will separate at the bottom in a clearish yellow liquid and the soft and creamy ricotta will sit at the top.  Your ricotta is now ready to use! If you want a more solid ricotta, drain for an hour or overnight. Keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

Let me know if you try the recipe out and what you used it for!