Daz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Ricotta is a versatile cheese that lends itself to both savoury and sweet dishes. It is also one of the easiest cheeses to make, using only the most basic equipment.

Typically made from the leftover whey from the production of cheese, ricotta is not properly a cheese because it is not produced by coagulation of casein. Rather, it is made by coagulating other milk proteins.

Here is a simple recipe for those who wish to make their own fresh ricotta using buttermilk and full cream milk;

Take one litre of buttermilk and four litres of full cream milk, heat in a large non-reactive heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. While the milk is heating, line a large colander with several layers of cheesecloth – which must be rinsed well beforehand. When the mixture reaches almost boiling, about 85 degrees, you will see the curds and whey separate, the curds are the clumpy white mass.

Remove the pan from the heat and gently begin to ladle curds into the prepared sieve. Resist the urge to press on the curds to try and speed up the process.

Pull the cheese cloth away from the sides of the sieve and gather up the cloth into a loose ball, tie and allow draining for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the resulting mass and place in an airtight container and refrigerate, use within three days.

One of my favourite recipes using ricotta is a Sicilian baked cheesecake which has pistachios, dried apricots, chocolate and lemon zest – which combine to make a very Moorish and popular dessert.

Sicilian Baked Ricotta Cheesecake

Crust

1.5 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder, heaped

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup almond meal

1 small egg, lightly beaten

125g cold butter, cubed

Line a 23-25cm springform tin with a single layer of tin foil. Lightly grease the surface with a little butter. In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, almond meal and lightly beaten egg. Add in the butter cubes and process the mixture until it resembles moist breadcrumbs. Pour the crumbs into the prepared cake tin and press the crust evenly over the base of the tin – refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Filling

600g fresh ricotta

250g cream cheese

1/2 cup castor sugar

3 egg yolks

1 lemon, grated lemon zest

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or droplets

1/2 cup finely chopped pistachio nuts

Beat together the ricotta, cream cheese, sugar egg yolks and lemon zest. Stir in the apricots, chocolate bits and pistachios and gently spoon into the prepared tin. Spread evenly over the crust. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for approximately one hour until the top is golden brown and the mixture is just set. Cool the cake in the tin. Serve with whipped cream and top with a sprinkle of grated chocolate and chopped pistachio nuts.