With an upcoming vacation, always-already bills to pay and expenses to account for, and the general “life in Vancouver is expensive” sighs, I declared one rainy weekend to be a Spend Nothing weekend.  No treats, no coffees, no take out. I’d be staying in with good movies and be making myself three, unique meals.  I can’t remember if I’ve told you that I’m not a fan of leftovers — I’m not a fan of leftovers — so this can prove tricky when you’re cooking for one.  My way around this is to pick one central ingredient or theme that I can repurpose over the course of many meals. In the case of this weekend, it would be ricotta cheese. And because I had time, it would be DIY.

 

 

I had found a ridiculously easy recipe on Working Class Foodies when I was searching at another point for a savoury pancake recipe. Their recipe for ricotta seemed almost too easy, even with the video proof that it was only a matter of boiling, stirring and draining.

If you’ve got an hour and a half, you’ve got the time. And if you can afford a quart of milk and a lemon, you’ve got the ingredients. Yes, THAT simple and cheap. I easily saved over 50 per cent of what ricotta costs in the dairy aisle. And the flavour was easily 50 times better, especially when you can sneak fresh, warm samples.

 

 

There is nothing particularly special about the pancakes except that they are a good take on breakfast for dinner and rather healthy. The ricotta topping is a good match with its salty richness. Oh, and I lied. These definitely were a treat that weekend.

 

 

Do-It-Yourself Ricotta Cheese
Adapted from Working Class Foodies
Makes about 2 cups.

I highly recommend using whole milk. I’ve made two more batches since, once with 2% and didn’t find it the same. If you do use a lower fat milk, the recommendation is to add a tablespoon or two of cream.  The rough yield of this recipe is 1 cup of cheese for 1 litre of milk used.

2 L whole milk
4 tablespoons lemon juice

Line a colander or sieve with cheese cloth or a few layers of paper towel (what I used).  Set over a bowl or the sink with a bowl underneath. Over medium heat, bring the milk to a bubbling rolling boil in a large saucepan.  Stir your milk often to prevent scorching.  If you have a candy thermometer, you want the temperature to reach between 190 and 210 degrees.  If you don’t, that’s okay, just make sure that the milk becomes frothy and rises when it boils.  Bubbling on the surface isn’t enough.  This can take up to 30 minutes.

Once boiling, take the milk off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.  Leave for 2 minutes.  Avoid the temptation to stir more and see the curds.

Then, drain into the colander.  Leave to drain for approximately one hour (or as few as 20 minutes), catching the whey underneath.

Once drained to your desired consistency, put in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.  You can use the saved whey to thin out your cheese if you want. Or, you can use it in soups or to cook pasta in.

 

 

Carrot-Scallot Pancakes with Lemon Ricotta
Inspired by Working Class Foodies
Serves 2.

0.5 cups cornmeal
0.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or half a tablespoon of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 carrot, grated
1 tablespoon finely minced shallot
1 cup milk
1 egg
A little melted butter or vegetable oil (or spray)
1 cup ricotta cheese (preferably freshly drained and still-warm)

1 tablespoon lemon zest
4 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat.
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.  Beat egg, milk, carrot and shallot separately.
Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  Do not over mix.  Some dry lumps are okay.
When pan is hot, brush a little of the melted butter or oil on to the surface.
Add batter to pan in pancake size desired.  Once bubbles appear across the surface of the entire pancake, flip over and cook for another minute or two.  The first pancakes will take a little longer to cook than later ones.
You can keep pancakes warm on a sheet pan in a 200 degree oven.

Mix ricotta, zest and pecorino together. Serve with pancakes.