Ricki Carroll’s Ricotta

Ingredients:

1  gallon milk

1 tsp. citric acid (you may need to add up to 1 tsp. more, if you are using very fresh milk)

1 tsp. cheese salt

Pour milk into a non-reactive pan. Add 1 to 2 tsp. citric acid and 1 tsp. salt and stir. Heat the milk to 195 degrees F. Stir often to avoid scorching. As soon as the curds and whey separate, turn off the heat. Allow to set undisturbed for 10 minutes. Line a colander with butter muslin or cheese cloth, and place over a large bowl. Ladle the hot curds and whey carefully into the cloth. Tie the cheesecloth into a bag and hang the cheese to drain for one hour. After draining to the consistency you prefer, the cheese is ready to eat. It will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator or may be frozen.

My notes: I use Jackie’s raw Jersey milk, and always use 2 tsp. citric acid as the milk is very fresh. If you have a very fine, single-layer mesh metal strainer, cheese cloth is unnecessary.

Every so often I like to make fresh ricotta. It’s incredibly easy to make, the result is infinitely more delicious than the store-bought stuff, and the whey by-product is a great buttermilk substitute for baking. I use Jackie’s raw Jersey milk, but you can use pasteurized milk as well. (I follow “Cheese Queen” Ricki Carroll’s method, posted separately.)

Anyway, with a quiet day at home before me, I prepared a batch in the late morning, knowing it practically makes itself and I could continue with the miscellaneous paperwork on my desk while it simmered. By the time it had strained — just about 30 minutes because I prefer ricotta moist — I was thinking about lunch and all the wonderful vegetables I’d picked up at the market.

This is where my hunger and a little inspiration led me:

First, I placed a handful of baby arugula on my plate, then tossed the leaves a couple of times after drizzling with Holmquist Hazelnut oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The leafy greens were  joined on the plate by barely steamed sugar snap and snow peas, also lightly coated with hazelnut oil. Next,  a scoop of my just-made ricotta (still slightly warm), with chopped fresh mint from my yard and lemon zest mixed in. And finally, a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

Half-way through my salad, I remembered I had a bag of Holmquist toasted Ennis hazelnuts and crushed a small handful over the remains on my plate. With a slice of toasted bakery bread, it made for a very satisfying spring lunch.

Thanks to Roslyn at Rabbit Fields Farm for growing the peas and arugula.

Baby spring turnips are lovely braised with a little butter and light vegetable stock, lightly seasoned and cooked just until soft. But I’d also picked up some radishes and sweet carrots from Terra Verde, and opted to roast a spring vegetable melange.

The vegetables took only simple preparation: washed and dried, cut (if necessary) to uniform size, tossed with a little olive oil and roasted in a small pan at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. They become nicely caramelized, soft but not mushy. At the same time in a separate pan, I crisped several sliced of prosciutto, then quickly tore them roughly into one- or two-inch pieces.

Five minutes before removing the vegetables from the oven, I tossed in some chopped shallots; they would have burned had I added them at the beginning. Before roasting, I’d removed the turnip greens and chopped them, along with some fresh thyme leaves. Finally, when everything was out of the oven, I tossed the greens and herbs into the roasted vegetables, along with the shreds of prosciutto.

Turnips and radishes have a pleasant bite that melds wonderfully with the sweetness of roasted young carrots. The peppery turnip greens and salty prosciutto lend the right balance of spiciness. Consensus among two adults and two teens: delicious.

1 ½ lb. grass-fed ground beef

1 ½ lb. grass-fed ground pork

3 cups organic steel-cut oats

8 cups water

1 large organic onion, chopped

2-3 large bay leaves

1 tsp. Allspice

2-3 tsp. Salt, or to taste

pinch fresh ground pepper

Bring water to boil in a heavy pot, then add oats, salt, pepper, allspice and onion. Cook for two hours, stirring often to reduce sticking. Keep lid on over low heat when not stirring.

Add meat and bay leaves, mix well. Cook for one hour, stirring well and often. Spread mixture onto a jelly roll pan to speed cooling, then transfer to loaf pans and refrigerate. Cover only when completely cooled, as condensation will make the loaves mushy. When chilled and firm, slice loaves and pan fry in butter until crispy brown. Serve with homemade applesauce.

Chilled goetta loaves also freeze beautifully. The firm loaf should release from the pan easily. Wrap in waxed paper, then in foil, freezer wrap or place in a plastic freezer bag. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before slicing and frying.

When I first made eggs en cocotte, I turned to that beloved duo, Jacques and Julia. Jacques Pepin actually makes his oeufs en cocotte entirely on the stove, simmering the ramekins in a water bath, then putting the whole shebang under cover for the last few minutes. His basic recipe is similar to Julia Child’s but I like that she starts her eggs on the stove and finishes them in the oven. The unattended oven time, about six or seven minutes, is just enough for me to assemble a salad or finish setting the table.  (If you’ve never seen her egg episode from the 1960’s series, The French Chef, it’s a delightful way to spend about 25 minutes.)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Make a bain-marie or water bath: fill a baking pan with water to about 1 inch and set it on the stove to simmer over medium heat. Butter one or several ramekins or mini souffle cups, 6 oz. size, with about 1 tsp. of butter. (Note: the pan should be big enough that there’s space between the ramekins for water to flow.) Usually, I just put the pat of butter in each cup and let it melt in the simmering pan, then swirl the melted butter to cover the bottoms of each cup. Break a large egg (or two smaller ones) into each ramekin, being careful not to break the yolks. Drizzle a tablespoon of heavy cream over each egg, sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt on the whites (so you don’t speckle the yolks) and give them a fresh grinding of pepper. At this point, you might add any of the following: minced fresh herbs such as dill, tarragon or chives; grated hard cheese such as gruyere or aged gouda; marinara sauce or spicy salsa.

Place the prepared ramekins in the simmering water bath and allow them to begin cooking. Within a minute or two, you’ll see a film start to form around the edges, which is your clue to transfer the pan to your preheated oven. Check them at about six minutes; they should be set but still jiggle slightly and you may need to put them back for another minute. Remember, they’ll continue to cook in the hot water bath after you take the pan from the oven, so lift the ramekins from the water bath when they’re ready. You want the whites well set but the yolks still runny-to-soft.

Cooked creamed spinach and shallots were added to the far right cup after baking. Creamed minced mushrooms would also be a nice addition to the cooked eggs. The spinach and herbs came from Rabbit Fields Farm, the cheese from Samish Bay, the cream, from Twin Brooks Creamery. And the butter: home made, using Twin Brooks cream.

 

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A great thing about these popular sandwiches is that possibilities are endless. You can use almost any nice quality bread: ciabatta or focaccia are probably most authentic, but we usually use sliced multigrain “Monster” loaves from Breadfarm.  Same is true for the fillings – almost anything goes when assembling favorite combinations, and good locally grown/produced sources abound. Cheese isn’t essential, but lends flavor and helps to keep smaller ingredient pieces between the bread slices as it melts. This can be helpful when flipping your sandwich on a grill pan. Of course, two-part panini grills solve that problem; no flipping necessary.

Depending on your other fillings, you may want to spread a pesto, mayonnaise, herb butter or other flavorful sauce on the inside of the bread slice(s).  For that matter, there is no rule that says panini must be grilled – the word simply translates from Italian to “little sandwich”. Still, I bet most people would agree those crispy grill marks and oozy cheese send texture and flavor over the top, elevating a very good sandwich to something extraordinary.

Some suggested combinations:

• Roasted or grilled sweet red pepper, fresh arugula or spinach leaves, grilled or shaved raw sweet onion, kalamata olive tapenade, local fresh goat cheese
• Grilled zucchini, mushrooms and onions with local gouda cheese
• Caprese style: sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaves
• Sliced apple and sharp cheddar cheese
• Sliced pears with Holmquist hazelnut butter and chocolate
•  Honeycrisp apples with honey-roasted peanut butter from Bellewood Acres
• Smoked wild salmon, sliced red onion, capers, cornichons, mustard, fresh dill, cream cheese (a grilled variation on Bagels & Lox)
• Grilled slices of eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper and onion with fresh tomato, basil and garlic (a sandwich variation on ratatouille)
• Sliced roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, spinach, red onion, sliced havarti cheese
• Fried sliced salt-cured bacon from Farmer Ben, with sliced Beecher’s Flagship cheese or Samish Bay aged gouda, sliced tomato, basil pesto
• Sliced grilled pasture-raised chicken, tomato, pepper, onion, roasted garlic and cilantro pesto

To prepare, preheat your electric panini press per manufacturer instructions, or place a heavy grill pan on the stove over medium high heat. Brush your bread slices lightly on one side with olive oil or soft butter and place oiled side down on a clean work surface. Assemble by stacking an appropriate quantity of fillings on one slice (spread first with mayonnaise, pesto, soft cheese if using), then top with second slice, oiled side up. Place on press and pull down top to grill, a few minutes until bread has golden brown grill marks and cheese (if using) has melted. OR, place on hot grill pan and weight with another heavy pan bottom or iron bacon press. Turn once during grilling. Note: Avoid applying heavy pressure to the sandwich when grilling – you don’t want to squish it. Sandwiches can also be made open-face style, under the broiler – though in doing so, you’ll make a culinary trip northwest to France and rename it a tartine.

Start with:

2 lbs. fresh locally grown asparagus (I prefer to use medium to thick spears)

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Snap off the tough root end from the asparagus and use a vegetable peeler to strip the outer skin from the bottom 3 to 4  inches of each spear. (An OXO peeler does a great job.) For appearances, line up the spears and slice just a bit – maybe 1/8 inch – to even up the snapped bottoms. Toss the asparagus in the oil, season with salt and pepper and spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast until hot and tender-crisp, about 8 to 12 minutes depending on thickness of your asparagus. (They should not be limp.) You might turn them once during roasting if you check on them midway, but it’s not necessary.

While asparagus is roasting, make the dressing:

1 tsp. finely minced shallot

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. maple syrup

1 Tbs. good quality sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

¼ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Whisk shallot, mustard, syrup and vinegar together in a small non-reactive bowl. Continue to whisk while adding olive oil in a smooth, steady stream to make an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper.

Assembly

1 Tbs. minced shallots

8 or so shards of aged hard cheese, such as Pleasant Valley Aged Gouda, Samish Bay Aged Montasio or Parmigiano Reggiano. Pull a vegetable peeler along the long edge of the cheese hunk to make paper-thin shards, about 2 or 3 inches long.

Remove asparagus from oven and toss with the vinaigrette and tablespoon of shallots. Place on a platter and arrange cheese on top of the spears. Alternatively, make four individual appetizer plates with two long cheese shards on each.

A note about the Parmigiano Reggiano in the photo: no, those white spots you see are not mold. They’re actually a common characteristic of this fine aged cheese and develop naturally as it continues to age.