Herbed Ricotta Salata: Pressing Cheese in a Sink Drainer

Making cheese isn't something I've ever been interested in. I've just been interested in eating it. It wasn't until I came to Korea that my interest for cheese consumption collided with cheese production. After realizing I could make my own cottage cheese and ricotta, it wasn't a big leap to making pressed cheeses. The largest obstacle in making cheese isn't the process; it's getting the materials. Rennet can be purchased online in Korea, but cheese cultures are a bit more difficult to procure. The beauty of ricotta salata is that it doesn't require any special ingredients like rennet or cultured buttermilk. The hardest part is waiting for the cheese to cure for at least two weeks.

I've already posted about making a cheese mold and pressing out a ricotta salata. This post is still about ricotta salata, but instead of laboring over making a cheese mold, I've found that it's much easier to use a sink drainer.

How to Make Potato Gnocchi

The first gnocchi dish I've ever tried was in Boston at Taranta Cucina Meridionale, a fusion Peruvian-Italian restaurant.  It was a yucca root gnocchi with spicy green lamb ragu topped with shaved parmesan.  It stands out as a dish I'll remember FO-EVA.  It's unfortunate that my first experience with gnocchi was so unforgettable.  Since then, I've come to accept that gnocchi isn't droppings from the gods.  The texture is chewy and without a sauce, gnocchi is pretty damn bland.  Forgive for drawing yet another comparison between the two cuisines, but does anyone else think gnocchi tastes similar to tteok 떡?

Anyway, I decided to make some gnocchi because I had a few guests over and it seemed like a fun dinner food that we could all make together.

Fried Ravioli from Egg Roll or Mandu 만두 Wrappers

I saw somewhere that Giada De Laurentiis made Spinach and Mushroom ravioli from mandu wrappers.  Mandu wrappers are widely available at any supermarket for about 2,000 won for 60 wrappers.  What is ravioli if not a cheesey, less-garlic-y ravioli?  I'm gonna get it for even drawing the comparison. 

Food sacrilege aside, I couldn't ignore my T. G. I. Friday's Fried Ravioli craving this morning.  It's 9:30 a.m.

Making a Cheese Press and Mold - Homemade Goat's Milk Ricotta Salata

I discovered ricotta salata through desperation.  I don't have access to cultures needed to make cheese.  I did some research, and found that I could simply press ricotta into a cheese mold to produce a semi-hard cheese.

Linguine Primavera From Scratch with Homemade Ricotta Salata

Waiting for cheese to age is agonizing.  Especially if you're required to take the cheese out and lovingly rub it with salt every day for a week.  I felt as frustrated as the cannibalistic witch in Hansel and Gretel when Hansel was taking too long to fatten up.  Age, cheese, age!

But after two weeks, I had produced my first pressed cheese - ricotta salata.  It can age longer, but I could not wait longer than the requisite two weeks.  Or the more rational answer - I had to test it to make sure I was doing it right.  It would be devastating to wait four weeks only to find out the whole thing had gone rancid, no?