Whipped Ricotta with Walnuts and Rosemary Honey
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
Rosemary Honey
- 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 cup honey
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
- 4 L whole milk
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 2 tsp kosher salt *see note
Whipped Ricotta with Walnuts and Rosemary Honey
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tsp kosher salt divided
- pinch pepper
- 1 baguette
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups ricotta cheese homemade or store-bought
- extra chopped fresh rosemary for garnish
- Rosemary Honey
Instructions
Rosemary Honey
- Wash and dry the rosemary sprigs. Place the rosemary in a small jar. Pour the honey over the rosemary, pushing the herb down so that it is fully submerged. Cover and let sit for several hours or up to overnight.
- After steeping, remove the rosemary and discard. Cover and label the honey. It should last in a cool dark place for a couple of months.
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
- Add the whole milk to a large pot. Place the pot over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir the milk as it heats up to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pot. Do not leave milk unattended on the stove as it can burn on the pan or boil over.
- Heat the milk slowly until it reaches 194°F, stirring regularly. This will take between 10 to 15 minutes. When the milk reaches 194°F, turn off the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt. The milk should begin to curdle immediately. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. After the curds have sat for 15 minutes, begin to spoon the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer. Allow the whey to drain off the curds.
- There will be a lot of whey. You can choose to save the whey to use in other recipes (**see note) or add it to your garden. Otherwise discard it. After all the curds have been poured into the strainer, allow them to drain until the cheese is fairly dry, about 1 hour.
- After draining for an hour, transfer the fresh ricotta to a container and chill. It is now ready to be used. This amount of milk will make 2 cups of ricotta cheese.
Whipped Ricotta Cheese with Walnuts and Rosemary Honey
- Roughly chop the walnuts. In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the walnuts to the skillet. Stir over medium high heat until the walnuts are toasted, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove walnuts from the heat. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and a pinch of pepper. Add the chopped fresh rosemary and stir to combine. Transfer the walnuts to a plate and allow to cool. After the walnuts have cooled, store in a sealed container until ready to use. The walnuts can be made the day before.
- Turn the broiler on high. Slice the baguette on a bias. Place slices on a baking sheet. Lightly drizzle the tops with extra virgin olive oil. Place under the broiler until golden brown. Flip the slices. Drizzle the other sides lightly with extra virgin olive oil and broil until golden brown. Allow the toasted baguette to cool.
- Transfer the ricotta cheese to a food processor. Sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of kosher salt. Blend the ricotta until creamy and smooth, scrapping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Taste the whipped ricotta and adjust the salt if needed.
- To serve, spoon the whipped ricotta cheese onto a plate or bowl. Sprinkle with the salted rosemary walnuts and fresh chopped rosemary. Drizzle generously with the rosemary-infused honey. Serve the baguette slices on the side. Alternatively, spoon the whipped ricotta onto baguette slices and top with the walnuts and rosemary honey to make individual crostini. Enjoy!
Notes
*Kosher salt is less salty than regular table salt. If using table salt, reduce the amount by half.
**Making ricotta cheese results in plenty of leftover whey. Rather than discard it, you can use it in several different ways. Replace the buttermilk or milk in recipes like pancakes or biscuits with whey. Or use whey instead of water in any standard bread recipe.