Homemade Ricotta

Many moons ago, my Italian godmother gave me ricotta for breakfast. This is rich, flavourful and creamy. If you are using it for a dish in which it is not the queen of the dish, then I don’t really think it is worth the effort. But eating it like this for breakfast is joy itself.

INGREDIENTS
1 litre whole milk
125ml double cream
60ml yoghurt
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (juice of half a lemon)
1/4 tsp salt

1. Put all of the ingredients in a heavy based pan and whisk them together.
2. Slowly bring it to simmer.
3. Watch the curds separate. It is so important that you stop when they have only begun to separate for a few seconds. If you simmer for too long and the curds become larger while the whey becomes clearer, you will have a more dense ricotta than risks becoming slightly rubbery in texture.
4. When the curds separate from the whey, remove it from the heat.

5. Line a sieve with muslin and put the sieve over a bowl or pan to hold the liquid (whey).
6. Leave it for an hour or so to drain.

7. When it looks like the picture below, I put a plate over the top of the sieve and turn its contents onto the plate by flipping it over quickly.
8. Use a spatula to remove any ricotta (curds) that are attached to the muslin.
9. Transfer the ricotta to a storage container with a lid and put it in the fridge until you plan to use it.

10. When I first ate this in Italy, I was given demerara sugar to sprinkle on top. I really love mild honey and so that is my favoured way, with seasonal fruit.