Basic method to make your own creamy ricotta-like cheese takes just a few minutes. Full of delicious rosemary and garlic flavors!
Ingredients
1gallonwhole milk
2-3sprigs fresh rosemary
3-4clovesgarlic, chopped
1large lemon, juice only
1teaspoonminced fresh rosemary
1teaspooncoarse ground black pepper
Olive oil, for drizzling
Pinchof kosher or sea salt
Instructions
Wrap roughly chopped garlic and rosemary in cheesecloth. Don’t wrap it too tight, you want the liquid to be able to circulate around it. Tie off the top though so it stays in a bundle.
Bring milk to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in herb bundle as it heats and stir it into the milk. Stir the milk frequently as it heats to prevent scalding.
Once milk is simmering lightly (don’t bring it to a rapid boil), remove herb bundle and immediately stir in lemon juice. Stir and remove from heat.
Let milk sit for 10 minutes so the curds can form.
Line a colander with a double layer of cheese cloth and carefully pour liquid through colander. The curds will separate from the whey. Let it drain for 10-15 minutes to make sure as much liquid as possible is drained off.
Start gathering up cheesecloth and applying pressure to the curds. Gently squeeze out as much liquid as you can. I recommend squeezing the cheesecloth and then putting a heavy bowl on top of the cheese to apply constant pressure. Let that sit for 15-20 minutes. (Not you can keep pressing the cheese and make it very firm, but I like mine soft.)
Unwrap cheese and season with a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and rosemary. Stir together gently. Place cheese in a serving bowl or chill for later. Garnish cheese with extra rosemary and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with crackers or bread.