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This is the recipe that started it all. A few years ago I went to Lunetta for Brooklyn restaurant week. The first course was bruschetta with homemade ricotta, lemon and honey. The ricotta was so creamy and good it got me thinking about how it is made. I did a little research and came across an easy recipe on Epicurious. When I first started making ricotta, there was far less information out there than there is these days. Now it seems everyone and their mother is making it. The Lunetta inspired bruschetta is now a standard at all of my parties.

The basic method to making ricotta is to bring milk to a simmer and add an acid. When I make the bruschetta I use all lemon juice since it gives the ricotta a great flavor. I’ve been experimenting with it and this time I tried half apple cider vinegar and half lemon which gave it a nice flavor. So really it’s up to personal preference which to use.

Homemade Ricotta 

Ingredients:

2 quarts whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Line a sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Slowly bring milk, cream and salt to a simmer over medium low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Add vinegar and lemon juice, reduce heat to low and let simmer until mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.

Drain the mixture into a cheesecloth lined sieve. Dump the liquid and let it drain for 1 hour. Refrigerate.

Then make lasagna.