Lemon Basil Ricotta, Kitchen-made Style

Are you like me and have this forever growing recipe bucket-list?

Things like kitchen-made fruit leathers, giant cinnamon rolls have snuck their way onto my mile long list, but on the particularly tippy-top of that long list was to make my own ricotta cheese. It was when I saw Megan’srecipe(courtesy of the fine folks of America’s Test Kitchen), I knew it was time to cross that recipe off of my list and get elbow deep into some ricotta cheese baby.

First of all I had no idea how unfussy it was, or else I would have made it a long time ago! You simply need a few ingredients, cheesecloth and a trusty digital thermometer and poof, ricotta. This method is light and bright from the lemon and basil, which complements the ricotta’s smooth and creamy texture. But if you desire plain ricotta simply simply leave out the lemon and basil.

This stuff is good. Reeeal good. It’s safe to say I won’t be buying store bought ricotta ever again. Period.

For this Lemon Basil Ricotta Youu will Need:

• whole milk
• lemon zest and juice
• fresh basil
• salt and pepper

Make sure to place cheesecloth on your grocery list, along with a digital thermometer that clips to your pot, if you don’t already have one in your kitchen.

Start by squeezing a few lemons and straining out all the pulp and seeds. My lemons were mighty juicy, so it only took 2 to get 2/3 cup of lemon juice. But always buy a couple extra only in case.

Line a mesh strainer or a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and set it inside the deepest—and I mean deepest—bowl you have.

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, pour in an entire gallon of milk.

While you patiently wait for the milk to heat up to 185ºF, stir … stir … stir! It will help prevent the milk from scalding.

The moment the milk reaches 185ºF, remove the pot from the heat and pour in the lemon juice. Now we wait, and specifically directed, DO NOT DISTURB for 25 minutes! In this time the lemon juice will coagulate the milk to form the curds, which will be the ricotta!

The moment the buzzer rings, pour the ricotta slowly into the cheesecloth-lined strainer. I recommend doing this step by a sink in case you need to drain out some liquid from the bowl.

I twisted the cheesecloth and squeezed to get the most moisture out.

If you wanted more of a loose ricotta, don’t squeeze, only stop draining when the liquid stops flowing freely.

Simply look at that cheese!

Grab a few fresh basil leaves, roll and mince the heck out of them until you get 1/3 cup.

Throw the basil in with the fresh (and still warm) ricotta!

Zest in half a lemon.

Season with some salt and black pepper to taste, and then gently fold it all together until the lemon and basil are incorporated.

Transfer the ricotta to a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

I truly can’t stop thinking about how savory this cheese tasted and how straightforward it was to prepare! You can spread it on bread, bake it in pasta—the options are endless! Until you run out and that’s a total bummer deal. But now you know only how simple it is to whip up some ricotta in your quite own kitchen! So go give it a try!