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Foodie: It's Soo Cheesee

Foodie: It's Soo Cheesee

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2017-01-13
Cheese is such an important aspect of a vegetarian diet; it's my family's favourite food. You can have it at any time of the day and with any condiment. I have so many cheese recipes and have been making my own cheese from time to time.

Cheeses like Paneer, Ricotta and herb cream cheeses are real easy to make and believe me, home made cheese beats the shop bought version hands down.

I grew up on homemade cheeses. Poland is big on cheese and each household makes their own.

Even though cheese making is a form of an art and alchemy, it's still so satisfying to make your own.

Deliciously soft and milky, ricotta is the perfect foil to other, stronger flavours, both savoury and sweet. Ricotta is also a great 'carrier' of flavours - spinach, Parmesan, herbs, nutmeg - which is why it's so often used as a filling for pastas. In fact, mixed with whipped cream or mascarpone, ricotta makes an excellent light but creamy filling for cake, I use it to make my famous cheesecake.

And guess what, you don't have to make a pasta sauce based on double cream to achieve creaminess - toss either the courgettes or the tomatoes above with ricotta and pasta for a creamy dish that tastes fresh rather than rich.

An underrated cheese if ever there was one.

This is how I make my ricotta cheese

You will need:

* 2 litres whole milk

* 1 cup heavy cream

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* Special equipment: large sieve, fine-mesh cheesecloth

This is dead simple just follow my instructions

1. Line a large sieve with a layer of heavy-duty (fine-mesh) cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

2. Slowly bring milk, cream, and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.

3. Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain for one hour if you want soft and moist ricotta or overnight if you want slightly harder textured cottage cheese. After discarding the whey, chill the ricotta, covered; it will keep in the refrigerator 2 weeks but trust me it will never last that long in any fridge with hungry mouths nearby.