Ricotta and Calzones

Making things from scratch "ruins" us for the store bought version more often than not.  This experiment was no exception.

We got the necessary gear to make our own homemade mozzarella and ricotta online.   It's actually very easy to make ricotta.  The recipe said to hang it to drain, and we rigged this set up with kitchen twine, butter muslin, a carabiner and an s-hook over a bowl.  Included in the kit is a 30 minute recipe, plus draining time, but completely reasonable to do while the dough is rising.  All it takes is 1 gallon of milk, 1 tsp. citric acid, and 1 tsp. cheese salt.  Really!  You don't need to be a master cook to be able to do this.

Hanging ricotta to drain 

A steady drip

Drained ricotta

Closing up the calzones

Sealing the calzones with a "pico" I learned making empanadas in Bolivia

Baked to golden and delicious

The filling is the perfect consistency, not runny like with store bought ricotta

While we love our weekly Friday night pizza, we thoroughly enjoyed a slight change of pace.  I still made the same pizza dough, the same tomato sauce for dipping, but this time I mixed the ricotta with mozzarella, parmesan, and two of our favorites (pepperoni and pesto/spinach).

For dipping, I made one change to the marinara.  I still let the garlic, pepper flakes, and basil cook in the olive oil, then remove them.  But I add tomato paste to the oil before adding the canned tomatoes.  I let the tomato paste cook in the oil, turning the oil red, then add the tomatoes.  If you use crushed tomatoes, you can skip the blending step.

Calzones

1 recipe pizza dough 
2 cups ricotta
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella (fresh mozzarella is too moist for this recipe)
1 cup grated parmesan
1 cup filling of your choice (I always make 2 different kinds, dividing the cheeses in half)
salt and pepper to taste

My favorite filling is:  finely chopped spinach (cook it down and drain it well) mixed with a few tablespoons of pesto.  Yum!

Preheat oven to 350.  Roll out half of the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured counter.  If the dough is not retaining its shape, let it rest under a kitchen towel for 10 minutes or so.  Fill with half of the filling mixture.  Fold the dough over the filling, and seal closed with a moist fingertip.  Then you may crimp it to seal (just make sure it's not going to split open in the oven).  Repeat with the other half of dough and filling.  Bake on a baking sheet for 35 minutes or until golden and delicious.  Let it cool for a few minutes to help keep the cheese from oozing out.  Cut with a serrated knife.  Serve with warm tomato sauce.

A New Approach

I'd like to try a new approach to updating this blog.  I've already posted so many of my favorites, and sometimes forget what is already on the blog.  I've also been a little less creative recently with a 4 month old baby who is still not consistently sleeping through the night.... so I think I'll post some highlights of our week's menu with links (as appropriate) to my posts of those recipes and include any new ones.

This past week we enjoyed:

1. Panko Breaded Tilapia

2. 3 non-traditional pizzas:

      Barbecue sauce, turkey and cheddar

      Refried Beans and cheddar topped with corn salsa and sour cream

      Peanut sauce (see below) with basmati rice, grated carrots and snow peas

3. Cheeseburgers and mashed potatoes

4. Grilled cheese on homemade rye bread with a fried egg on top

5. Hummus and homemade pita bread (to take to a potluck) 

Of course, these don't include the veggie sides, which this week were often simple salads or frozen veggies that I threw in the microwave.

I'm also going to try to remember to take pictures sometimes to include.  I guess I'll start with that next week since I completely forgot this past week.



Peanut Sauce

This is something I completely made up and I'm guessing on the quantities, and I'm sure it could be made a variety of ways.

2 tablespoons Peanut Butter
2 cloves garlic
1 inch piece of fresh ginger- grated
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
maybe a few drops of water

I start with the garlic in a tiny food processor, and then add the remaining ingredients.  This makes a really thick paste which is fine for the pizza application, but if you're using it as a sauce (like for stir-fry) I recommend thinning it with coconut milk.  You could also add honey, sriracha, scallions or even pre-made hoisin sauce.