Homemade Ricotta & Baked Mushrooms Stuffed with Ricotta (Funghi al forno ripieni di ricotta)

If you’ve ever made paneer, ricotta is a lot like that, except even easier as you don’t have to weight it down. It’s actually so easy that I don’t see how anyone could read through a recipe for it and continue to buy tubs of ricotta at the store. This is so much better! And, I know it’s not true ricotta (I think that’s made with just whey and not milk?) but this will do for any ricotta-like purpose that you want to use it for.

You can use lemon juice to make the curds, but I found that I really like to use white balsamic vinegar.

A portion of my homemade ricotta was mixed with lemon zest, garlic, fresh herbs and parmesan and stuffed into mushroom caps. Honestly, the ricotta, herbs, lemon zest and Parmesan was quite good just on its own. I mean, if you have mushrooms definitely give it a try as a stuffing, but otherwise, you know, use the ricotta-lemon-herbs mixture for crackers. Or just eat it with a spoon…that works too.

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Homemade Ricotta
8 cups (half gallon) Whole Milk
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp White Balsamic Vinegar (you can also use plain white distilled vinegar or even lemon juice)

Line a colander with two layers of fine cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Set aside.

Heat the milk and salt in a large pot. Don’t bring to a full boil but let it warm up and get to a bare simmer (about 180 degrees F if you have a thermometer handy). Turn off the heat and add the vinegar. Start with 3 tablespoons and if it doesn’t curd up as much as you would like, add the remaining tablespoon. Stir for a few seconds and then let sit for about a minute.

Carefully ladle or pour the cheese into the colander and let drain for about 15 minutes. Let cool and then store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Discard the whey. Or, (and I have not done this), but you can save the whey and use it while baking — replace the liquid in baked goods when making breads and muffins. Or use in smoothies. Stuff like that.

Baked Mushrooms Stuffed with Ricotta (Funghi al forno ripieni di ricotta)
Adapted from a recipe by Jaime Oliver; serves 4-8 as a snack
1/3 cup homemade Ricotta
Zest of 1 Lemon
1/8 tsp Chili Pepper Flakes
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs or 1 tsp dried (basil, thyme, parsley, oregano etc…)
2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan Cheese
12-16 White Button or Cremini Mushrooms
1 Tbsp Olive Oil + more for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Add ricotta to a large bowl and mix in the lemon zest, chill flakes, herbs and Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Carefully remove the stalks from mushrooms and discard. Toss mushroom caps in a little oil, salt and pepper. Lay them on a baking sheet and spoon a little filling into each cap. Drizzle a little olive oil over all the mushrooms and bake until golden – about 15-20 minutes.