Homemade ricotta

I read in the news about 2 billion tonnes of food thrown away globally. What a shame and shock!  and a lot of people died of hunger, this world is crazy!! I always think wasting food is such a sin.we don't even waste a grain of rice. There is an ancient Chinese poem every Chinese kid has to learn  in the elementary school about how to value a simple grain of rice. 

The direct translation into English is:

        A farmer is weeding at noon,
　　Sweat is dripping down the field.
　　Who knows rice on a dish,
　　Every grain is full of hard work?   

and here is Brian's better version: 

        At noon a farmer culls the weeds
        Rice stalks showered by sweaty beads
        Who knows the rice that they consume
        Is only through his arduous deeds?

It's a simple but amazing poem, once you read never forget!

Don't discard the whey after you make the ricotta!

The first time I tried to made ricotta cheese, I just could not get it to curdle. It was really frustrating; then I realized I didn't heat it enough.  The milk and cream need to be boiled, then put in the lemon juice, and the curds form really quickly. Since I mastered the technique, making fresh ricotta has become really easy! Since you make your own ricotta,you don't want to buy ricotta from the store.

 

start to become curds

Ingredients:

• 1 quarts whole milk

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• Special equipment: clean cheesecloth

Line a large sieve with a layer of clean cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Slowly bring milk, cream, and salt to a rolling boil in a 3-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. when the milk mixture become bubbling reduce the heat to low add lemon juice, and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.

Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain 1 hour. But I only drain for 10 mins. Save the whey for cooking rice or soup, chill the ricotta, covered; it will keep in the refrigerator 3 days.

Ricotta Fritters

It's cold outside, and snow actually makes the plain view in our poor area looks beautiful now.  I was thinking to make a snowman. In the winter I am just like some animal hibernating at home, (which means baking and cooking).

I love Italian food even more than French food; in my humble opinion, Italian cuisine is more light and has more variety.  But it's true they deep fry things a lot. For example, these fritters, which I prefer to call ricotta profiteroles.  When I deep fry them, the batter will inflate and become a lovely ball with hollow inside.You really should try to make this one! They are so light and delicious especially when hot, but cold ones are still good.

This dish prefer fresh ricotta,actually you can make by yourself,really easy.See How make homemade Ricotta

Here is the recipe:

 

Do you know aubergine is a fruit?

When I was kids I didn't like eggplant because the texture is kind of mushy. This was maybe passed down from my dad,  he doesn't like it either. But since I learned how to make the famous Chinsese dish Yu-Shiang Eggplant en Casserole, even my dad fell in love with eggplant. 

Speaking of eggplant, maybe I should start using aubergine since I live in UK now. Actually calling it aubergine is more accurate, because some 18th-century European cultivars which were yellow or white resembled goose's eggs, hence the name "eggplant".  Nowdays the purple one is more popular and aubergine is also the name of the purple color resembling that of the fruit. 

Talking about the name of this fruit (not vegetable! surprise?) in Mandarin name "qie zi"(茄子), which is when you take a photo you will say just like you say "cheese".   In Shanghainese the aubergine has a more beautiful name "luo su"(落苏）

The first known written record of this plant is found in Qí mín yào shù, an ancient Chinese agricultural treatise completed in 544.  Aubergine provides a lot of surprises!

Aubergine-Wrapped Ricotta Gnocchi

Adapted from Ottolenghi cookbook

Serves 4 as a start or 2 as a main dish

Ingredients:

• 1 small long aubergine
• 4 tbsp olive oil

         Ricotta gnocchi

• 30g pine nuts, or walnuts lightly toasted chopped
• 250g ricotta cheese
• 2 egg yolks
• 35g plain flour
• 40gr Parmesan, grated
• 1 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped basil
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper

         sage butter

• 70gr butter
• 20 sage leaves
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together 40gr Parmesan, the flour, egg yolks, salt and ricotta. Add the parsley and basil, mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight if possible.

Trim off the top and the bottom of the aubergine and slice to the thickness of a pound coin lengthways. Brush liberally with olive oil and griddle until soft. 

Scoop a large tablespoon of the gnocchi mixture and using wet hands, shape into a barrel shape and set aside. I found  bite size is easy to eat, so I made 8 out of this mixture. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and simmer them, 4 at a time. They are done when they float to the surface. Use a slotted spoon transfer them to a  kitchen towel to drain. Once the dumplings are cool, wrap the aubergine around them carefully. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. 

Place the aubergine-wrapped gnocchi in an oiled dish and bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan and simmer until light brown in colour. Turn off the heat, add the sage leaves and the lemon juice.

To serve, place the gnocchi on the plate and pour the butter over it with a few sage leaves.