Make this with Rock Ridge Dairy’s jersey milk and you will never go back to commercial ricotta. Spread on toast, use as a vegetable dip or eat by the spoonful.
| 4c | whole milk |
| ¼c | heavy cream |
| ½t | kosher salt |
| 3T | freshly squeezed lemon juice |
Line a fine-mesh or other tiny-holed strainer with a layer or two of cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl with enough clearance (that the bottom of the strainer won’t touch the bowl once it has 4 cups of liquid in it) or the cheese won’t drain. In a heavy medium-large saucepan, heat the milk, cream and salt over medium- high heat until just below a simmer—it will look like it’s foaming and register just below 200°F. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in lemon juice. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then pour it through the cheesecloth. Drain for 10 minutes, or until it’s a nice soft ricotta consistency, and up to 10 minutes longer if needed. (The amount of time it takes to drain has to do with the size of your cheesecloth holes.) Transfer ricotta to a bowl to serve. Drizzle with olive oil, and finish with salt and pepper.