Ricotta: Homemade, Hand-Dipped, Whipped & Everything In Between

Plus: A Pizza 🍕🍕🍕

Hello Pizza Friends,

Today we’re talking about ricotta, a cheese I thought I disliked for much of my life, thanks no doubt to years of dining hall lasagna and stuffed shells, whose chalky flavorless fillings left much to be desired. (Slimy, overcooked noodles didn’t help either.)

As with so many foods, a taste of the real thing made me realize what I’d been missing. For me, this was Ina Garten’s homemade ricotta from her book How East is That?, which all but turned me off any ricotta I could find at the store.

Ina’s ricotta, I’ve since learned, isn't actually the real thing. So what is? The general process of making cheese entails curdling milk, which separates it into solids (curds) and liquid (whey). Most cheese is made from the curds, but ricotta, which literally means “recooked” in Italian, is made from the whey.

Ina’s recipe does not follow the traditional re-cooked process but rather the traditional cheese-making process: heat milk, curdle it, then separate the curds from the whey. (Incidentally, according to this Bon Appetit article, this non-traditional method is how most ricotta in the States is now made today.)

With the exception of a few commercial brands, namely Calabro, I still find most grocery store options of ricotta to be disappointing. That’s not to say they don’t have their place — they work well in cakes, quick breads, and pastas of all kinds — but on their own, they taste bland and have a grainy, unpleasant texture.

I buy these sorts of ricottas when I know I can get away with it, but when I am making something where I want the ricotta itself to shine — say, for example, pizza — I make the effort to find the good stuff, or I make it from scratch.

Where do you find the good stuff? If you have a good cheese store, I’d start there. It might carry ricotta from a nearby dairy that makes it in small batches and distributes it on a local scale, all of which will mean you’ll likely be getting a fresh, high-quality product. 

Another descriptor to look for is “hand-dipped,” which simply means the ricotta is handled more gently in the making and has a lighter texture. Maplebrook Farm, which I can find in several local shops, makes a really nice hand-dipped ricotta. 

If you can only find the average, readily available ricotta sold at most supermarkets, I’d suggest whipping it in the food processor. I am always astonished by how well this works — it removes all graininess and lightens its texture, giving it a shiny, almost frosting-like sheen. I show how to do this in the video below and explain how to do so as well in the recipe below.   

If you have thoughts about ricotta, I’d love to hear. Personally, I favor adding ricotta to pizzas post bake, because I find doing so preserves its freshness, creaminess, and overall flavor.

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The Video: Homemade Ricotta + A Pizza

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The Recipes

Homemade Ricotta

Yield = 2 cups

Source: Ina Garten’s How Easy is That? | Find a Printable Version Here

Salt: If you are using Morton kosher salt or sea salt, use 3/4 teaspoon.

Milk and Cream: If you can find milk and cream that is not "ultra-pasteurized", buy them. I never can find non "ultra-pasteurized" heavy cream but it doesn't seem to matter. 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole milk, preferably not ultra-pasteurized, see note above

• 2 cups heavy cream, see note above

• 1.5 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see note above

• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or other white vinegar you like 

Instructions:

1. Set a large fine-mesh sieve over a deep bowl. Line the sieve with two layers of folded cheesecloth (so roughly 4 single layers).

2. Pour the milk and cream into a stainless steel or enameled pot. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally — do not walk away. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute or until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).

3. Pour the mixture into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally transferring the liquid that collects in the bowl to another storage vessel. In the end you will have 2 cups of ricotta and 4 cups of whey. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth. Save the whey — you can make bread with it.

4. Taste the ricotta. Season with more salt if you wish. Use the ricotta immediately or transfer it to a storage vessel, and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. It will thicken considerably once chilled for 24 hours.

Whipped Ricotta

Why make whipped ricotta? As noted above, whipping transforms run-of-the-mill ricotta into a better product, and even with higher-end ricotta, whipping it also gives it a nice texture.

To make it, simply place 1 cup (or more) of ricotta in a food processor and whip it until smooth. You may want to season it with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Fresh lemon zest is nice, too. If you find your ricotta is still thick while you are whipping it, you can thin it with a splash of milk or cream (or, if you made it from scratch, the leftover whey).

Pizza with Salami Calabrese, Red Onion, Pickled Peppers & Whipped Ricotta

Yield = 1 Pizza

Printable Version Found Here

Notes:

• Tomato Sauce: I have used cooked and uncooked sauce here: either this one or this no-cook sauce (found in the notes section of the recipe box) or use your favorite sauce

Equipment:

• Baking Steel (Original or Pro) or pizza stone

• Pizza peel

• Parchment paper

Ingredients

• 250-gram Neapolitan-style pizza dough ball (One of these or these dough balls will work well here)

• ap flour, for dusting

• semolina flour, for the peel, optional

• 3 tablespoons tomato sauce, see notes above

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

• 1/3 cup pickled sweet hot peppers, roughly chopped if large (I love Mama Lil’s)

• 1.5 ounces (or more or less depending on the thickness) Salami Calabrese (I like this Gusto salami) or other similar cured meat you like

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Flaky sea salt

• 1/4 cup (roughly) whipped ricotta, see recipe above

Instructions:

1. If you are using refrigerated dough, allow it to proof at room temperature in a covered vessel for roughly 90 minutes (longer is fine, too, especially in these colder months). If you are using room-temperature dough (as in dough that has risen once and has been portioned and balled up), you likely won’t need quite as long of a proof — aim for 1 hour. 

2. Place a Baking Steel or pizza stone in the top third of your oven and preheat it to 550ºF convection or as hot as it will go. Once the oven gets up to temperature, allow it to preheat for roughly 1 hour if time permits. 

3. Lightly flour a work surface. Line a pizza peel with parchment paper. Dust with semolina flour, if using.

4. Place the dough onto the work surface, and pat it lightly, gently pushing air out toward the outer rim. Then, with lightly floured hands, stretch the dough into roughly a 10-inch round. I do this by using the back of my hands to rotate the dough gently. Transfer the round to the prepared peel. (See video above for guidance.)

5. Spoon the tomato sauce over the dough, spreading it to within 1 to 1/2 inch of the edge. Top with the salami, followed by the onions and pickled peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with sea salt. Pull gently on the outer edge of the dough to stretch into a 12-inch round. (See video above for guidance.)

6. Shimmy the pizza into the oven, parchment paper and all, onto the preheated Steel or baking stone for 5 minutes or until the edges are browned to your liking. 

7. Remove the pizza and transfer to a serving board. Drop small spoonfuls of the ricotta over the top.

8. Cut and serve. 

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Any topic you’d like covered? Please let me know. See you next Friday 🍕🍕\