Paige’s camera broke, so… here’s a photo from amy_eggsonsunday‘s flickr stream

Homemade Ricotta (with Campanelle, cherry tomatoes, garlic and olive oil)

I’ve always heard that making ricotta was a simple process, so this week I decided to give it a go. For anyone who loves pasta and cheese, this is an exciting way to spice up an old standard. All you need is whole milk, buttermilk, a thermometer and a sieve (if you can find cheese cloth, that’s preferable, but since they didn’t have any at Food Dimensions, I bought a large sieve instead).

Ingredients:
1 gallon whole milk
1 quart buttermilk

Combine both milks into a large thick-bottomed sauce pan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pan to avoid scorching. Once the milk is hot, stop stirring. At this point, you’ll see curds rising to the surface. Run a spatula along the bottom occasionally to loosen any stuck curds.

When the mixture reaches about 175 degrees, you’ll see the curds and whey separate. Remove the pot from the heat and gently ladle the curds into a sieve (or a wide colander lined with cheese cloth). Drain for 15 minutes. Makes about 4 cups.

While the ricotta was draining, I cooked the pasta and tossed it with some garlic-infused olive oil, cherry tomatoes and a bit of fresh oregano. Then topped the pasta with a beautiful, pillowy cloud of fresh, warm ricotta. Heavenly.