Summer Ricotta with Grilled Vegetables
Summer Ricotta with Grilled Vegetables is a wonderful starter to a summer gathering. Homemade ricotta is the star of this dish…it’s so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you’ve never done it before! Grilled zucchini, peppers, eggplant, lemons and sourdough bread are the perfect accompaniment to this creamy ricotta.
I make homemade ricotta a lot! It’s so easy and far more superior than store-bought. But, if you’re in a pinch, you can use store-bought…I won’t judge!
To make it, line a colander with cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl.
In a saucepan, heat the milk, cream and salt until just below a simmer. Stir in the lemon juice and let it sit for about 5 minutes. This will curdle the milk. Then pour it through the cheesecloth.
Let it sit for a bit until it’s drained to the consistency that you like. Transfer it to a serving bowl and drizzle olive oil over and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Drizzle the vegetables and bread with olive oil. Grill them until there is a light char to the veggies and bread. Flip and repeat.
Season everything with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving platter.
Right before serving, drizzle everything with more olive oil, squeeze some of the lemon over the top and season with additional salt and pepper.
You can also drizzle with balsamic vinegar, if you like.
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Summer Ricotta with Grilled Vegetables
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
Ricotta:
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
To Serve:
- 1 pound (455 grams) mixed summer vegetables, thinly sliced
- 8 slices from a large sourdough loaf
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, halved
Instructions
Make the Ricotta:
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.
Grill the bread and vegetables: Brush or drizzle your vegetables and bread with olive oil. Grill the vegetables, bread, and lemon halves until they’re lightly charred underneath (depending on how robust your grill is, this could take 2 to 6 minutes), then flip the vegetables and bread and cook on the second side. Season with the vegetables with salt and pepper and transfer everything to a serving platter.
Right before serving, drizzle everything with additional olive oil, squeeze at least one lemon half over the vegetables (leave the second half on the platter), and season with additional salt and pepper. You could also drizzle some balsamic vinegar over, or keep it on the side.
Leftover ricotta is not a thing that exists, but it theoretically keeps for 3 days in the fridge.
Recipe by Smitten Kitchen
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