Food & Drink Serves 4 to 6 12 slices French multi-grain baguette 1 ripe peach ½ cup fresh homemade ricotta Freshly ground black pepper to taste 4 thin slices prosciutto Honey or maple syrup (as needed) Using a panini press or toaster oven, grill baguette slices. Halve, pit and thinly slice peach. Spoon about 1 tbsp. ricotta onto each toast. Tear prosciutto into feathery pieces and drape a few slices over ricotta. Drizzle each with honey or maple syrup and top with two peach slices. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Suggested wine: This hors d’oeuvre complements Italian Moscato, a sweet sparkling wine or a late harvest Riesling. To make the ricotta, you’ll need the following: ▶▶ 4-quart pot ▶▶ Instant-read thermometer or candy thermometer ▶▶ Measuring spoons ▶▶ Cheesecloth ▶▶ Strainer ▶▶ Mixing bowl ▶▶ Slotted spoon Fresh Homemade Fast Ricotta Recipe Makes 1 cup of rich ricotta. 1.05 gallons whole milk 1 cup 18% cream ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice Pour the milk and cream into a pot and set it over mediumheat. Let it warm gradually to 200°F, monitoring the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. The milk will get foamy and start to steam; remove it from the heat before it starts to boil. When the temperature reaches 200 F, turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir once or twice, gently and slowly. Then let the pot sit undisturbed for 20 minutes. After this time, the milk should have separated into clumps of milky white curds and thin, watery, yellow-coloured whey – dip your slotted spoon into the mix to check. If you still see a lot of un-separated milk, add another tablespoon of lemon juice and wait for a few more minutes. Set a strainer over a bowl and line the strainer with cheesecloth. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the curds out of the pot and transfer them to the strainer. Let the ricotta drain for 10 to 60 minutes, depending on how wet or dry you prefer your ricotta. If the ricotta becomes too dry, you can also stir some of the whey back in before using or storing it. Peach, Prosciutto and Ricotta Crostini CSANews | SUMMER 2018 | 45
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