I first made ricotta cheese at home, after watching Stephen Lee make it on MasterChef. I was in awe! How did he manage to make cheese in a competition?
I remember watching my grandmother make labneh at home, but never thought about doing it myself (lazy millennial? Idk…)
Well, I looked up some ricotta recipes and to my surprise they were fairly simple and I had all the ingredients at home. You will need a cheesecloth (or a nut milk bag), which can be found in most grocery stores.
I love asparagus. <3
The asparagus and herb laced ricotta pair perfectly on light, golden puff pastry. I used a store bought pastry, but feel free to make it at home!
On to the recipe:
Asparagus Tart with Homemade Ricotta
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
Ricotta
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup cream
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon chopped chive
Asparagus
- 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 egg, whisked
- Olive oil, to finish
- Microgreens, for garnish
Instructions
Ricotta
- In a heavy bottom pot, heat milk, cream and salt until at a boil.
- Turn off the heat and add in the vinegar.
- Allow mixture to curdle.
- Line a strainer with cheesecloth and more the mixture over the cheesecloth.
- Allow the cheese to drain for 20 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl and mix in the lemon zest, fresh dill and chive.
Tart
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place puff pastry on the baking sheet. Prick with a fork, leaving a ½ inch around the entire parameter for the crust.
- Brush the crust with the beaten egg.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Prepare a bowl with ice water.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and place the asparagus in the water for one minute.
- Remove the asparagus from the boiling water and place in the ice water.
- Remove from ice water and pat dry.
- Remove the puff pastry from the oven.
- Evenly spread the ricotta cheese over the pastry and arrange the asparagus on the tart.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until pastry is golden.
- Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with micro greens.
- Enjoy 🙂
I had some extra ricotta and puff pastry, so I made this:
