Matcha always gives a very special touch to anything you add it to, but curiously I had never thought of mixing it with cheese or with any other food... but when I knew that ROWSE had Matcha Powder as one of their raw ingredients, I got inspired to give it a try mixing it with a classic ricotta recipe. The result has amazed me very much! The freshness of the ricotta goes perfectly with matcha’s umami profile!

Here’s my recipe for a Matcha Ricotta:

Ingredients:

- 2l of whole milk - 2 lemons - 1 tbsp of salt - 2 tbsp of Matcha Powder - 1 piece of linen cloth or muslin

Method:

1. Heat the milk in a deep saucepan. After 2-3 minutes, add the salt and the juice of the two lemons. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon while the milk heats up but never let it boil. After a while you will see some lumps starting to rise: at this point the milk curdles and the whey (the liquid part) separates from the curd. This process until the curd is somehow semi-solid will take about 15 minutes to be complete, so once it starts, stop stirring and bring the heat to minimum.

2. Place a linen cloth or a muslin in a large strainer and place the strainer over a large bowl. Pour the mixture through the strainer, gently stirring to push all the liquid through. Let it rest for about 10 minutes, a bit more if you prefer a firmer but still brittle consistency. Add 2 tbsp of Matcha Powder and stir until you get a beautiful green-coloured mixture.

3. Wrap the linen cloth around the curd and squeeze gently to remove the remaining whey*. Repeat this action two or three times until you get the desired consistency. Unwrap the linen cloth and you’ll find your Matcha Powder Ricotta.

*Do not discard this whey, you might want to add a bit if the ricotta is dryer than you desired.

Recipe by Clara Diez