A good lasagne recipe usually calls for ricotta cheese.  The Manly Man Lasagne recipe I made needed almost 4 cups, and let’s face it – even if you can get it from the upmarket grocers in Kuala Lumpur, a 200-250 gm tub (about 1 cup) would cost at least RM 20, and I’ll need four tubs! Adoihh!

After weighing my options and doing some digging around on the Internet, I discovered that ricotta is one of those cheeses one can easily make at home, using common ingredients easily obtainable from hypermarkets. Booyah!

So try it out, and $ave$ome$ in the process!

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

Ricotta cheese

Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 2 litres full cream milk
• 1 litre whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 tablespoons white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice

Directions

Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth.  If you have a clean old white tudung bawal you’re no longer using, you can use that instead.  It’s washable and reusable too!  My mom took it to the next level by making a drawstring bag using some of our old white tudung.  Best… mom… ever!

Pour the milk and cream into a large stainless steel pot. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).

Pour the mixture into the cloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta.  Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding any remaining whey. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.