Cheese Making Recipes
Rachel Allen’s Baked Ricotto and Blueberry Cheesecake
Serves 8-10.
Ingredients:
50g (2oz) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
150g (5oz) (about 12) digestive biscuits
500g ricotta cheese (Or soft fresh cheese as per basic soft cheese recipe)
200g (7oz) creme fraiche (you could also use fresh crème with some added lemon juice)
3 eggs
175g (6oz) caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, grated zest of 1 lemon
275g (10oz) blueberries, fresh or frozen
Icing sugar, for dusting
20cm (8in) diameter springform tin.
Preheat the oven to 180°C 350°F, Gas 4.
Grease the sides and base of the cake tin with butter
Method:
Put the digestive biscuits in a food processor and blend them until they are quite fine. Alternatively, place them in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin to break them up. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and tip the mixture into the prepared tin. Press the biscuit mixture down into the base of the tin to form an even base layer.
Wash the processor bowl and blade, reset and add the ricotta cheese, the creme fraiche, the eggs, the caster sugar, the lemon zest and the vanilla extract. Blend for a few seconds until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Next, using a fork, ever so slightly crush 100g (3ƒoz) of the blueberries and then stir them into the mixture in the food processor. Pour the mixture from the food processor onto the biscuit base in the tin and gently shake and tilt the tin so that the ricotta mixture forms a level layer (minding the loose bottom of tin!). Bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the cheesecake is pale golden and wobbles slightly in the middle when you gently shake the tin. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and set it aside to completely cool before storing in the fridge overnight. Don’t worry if the top has cracked when you take it out again, as the remaining blueberries will cover this. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cheesecake and remove it from the tin. Transfer it to a serving plate and scatter the remaining blueberries on top. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
Tagliatelle with smashed peas sausage and ricotta cheese
Ingredients:
450 gm dried tagliatelle
2 tablespoons of Oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
450 gms hot Italian sausage, casings removed
450 gms pound frozen peas, thawed
200 gms whole milk ricotta cheese
1 bunch fresh basil leaves chopped (about 3/4 cup)
120 gms fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 teaspoon salt
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Method:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes if dry or according to package directions if fresh. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat and add the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into bite-sized bits. When the sausage has browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add the peas to the pan and, using the back of the wooden spoon, smash the peas. Turn off the heat. Add the ricotta cheese along with the cooked pasta and toss to coat, adding the pasta cooking water in 2 tablespoon cup additions, if needed, to make the pasta moist. Return the sausage to the pan. Add the basil, Pecorino Romano cheese, and salt. Toss gently to coat and serve immediately
Spiced Broccoli with Paneer
Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli broken into florets
1 tbsp olive oil
225 gms paneer
1 tsp garam masala
1 garlic clove, finely chopped1 red chilli, deseeded and finely choppedzest and juice 1 lemon
naan bread, to serve
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Method:
1. Cook the broccoli in a large pan of boiling salted water for 3-4 mins. Save a little of the cooking water, then drain broccoli and set aside in the colander.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Season, then fry the paneer for 2-3 mins on each side until golden. Move the paneer to the edge of the pan and add the garam masala, garlic, chilli and reserved cooking water. Cook for 2 mins, then return broccoli to the pan, with the lemon zest and juice. Toss everything together to heat through and serve with warm naan breads
How To Make Paneer Cheese
Ingredients:
1 L of whole cow milk
3-4 tbsp of an acid; lemon juice is used in this example but you can substitute with lime juice, vinegar or leftover whey from a previous batch of paneer.
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Method:
Bring the milk to a temperature just below boiling. Then turn off the heat. It should be about 80`C.Temp(176 f).
l Add lemon juice or citric acid, 5 ml (one teaspoon) at a time. Stir the milk until the milk separates; the solid curds part from the green and watery whey.
l You’re looking for just the right amount of acid to cause the gently boiling milk to curdle. If milk does not start to curdle immediately, start by adding only one teaspoon of lemon juice at a time in a stepwise manner until the milk curdles. Do not add more lemon juice than necessary; otherwise the paneer will not be soft, as well as will taste sour and bitter.
l Stirring gently and continuously throughout this step will not only separate the solid whitish-coloured curds from the greenish-coloured liquid whey, but will also prevent the curds from sticking to the sides and bottom of the pan.
l You will know that the curdling process is finished once the curds have stopped precipitating from the greenish coloured liquid whey.
l Allow the curds and whey to cool for half of an hour (or until still warm, but at a temperature you can handle). Then strain the mixture through a cheesecloth in a strainer. Rinse the curds with fresh water. You may wish to save some or all of the whey; it can be used to make your next batch of paneer, producing a slightly more tender cheese than lemon juice.
l Wrap the cheesecloth around itself in order to squeeze out moisture from the curds. The more you squeeze, the firmer the resulting paneer shall be.
l Shape the paneer into a block and wrap it tightly with the cloth. By putting a cutting board or something heavy and flat on top of the paneer, you can force out more moisture and shape it into a firmer
block, suitable for slicing and frying. To get a more rectangular shape, tie a knot and place the cheesecloth bundle in a box without closing it. Place something heavy, like a pile of books or a brick, on the cheesecloth to press down and give the cheese the box’s shape. The longer you press the cheese, the firmer it gets. Not all Indian dishes require cheese to be made into solid blocks. Stuffed Paneer Naans, for example, require cheese to be loose.
l Cut and shape the paneer as desired, depending on the type of dish the paneer will be added to.
l Soak the block of cheese in chilled water for 2-3 hours. This is optional, as the intention is to improve appearance and texture.