How cool is it to make your own cheese? It’s worth the extra effort and you might just feel like a “mad scientist” watching the curds and whey separate. Use the resulting whey in any baked goods recipes calling for water or milk. This recipe makes about 1/2 pound of paneer.
Enjoy it sliced on salads, toast, or in a traditional Indian recipe like Saag Paneer. Find the recipe here.
Ingredients
5 cups whole milk, NOT ultra high-temp processed
3-5 tsp lemon juice or 5-7 Tbsp buttermilk
Cheesecloth or nut milk bag
Directions
Rinse a large pot with water and make sure it’s completely clean. Add milk to the pot and heat over medium-low flame. Stir occasionally so a skin doesn’t form on the top of the milk and the bottom doesn’t burn.
Place a strainer or colander over another pot, or a bowl. Line strainer with double-layer of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag turned inside out so seams are outside.
When milk starts boiling, add the lower quantity of lemon juice or buttermilk. Begin to stir. The milk will start to curdle; keep stirring so it doesn’t stick to the base of the pot. You may see the milk has curdled part-way, but no watery whey is visible. Add 1-2 tsp more lemon juice, or 1-2 Tbsp buttermilk, and stir again. Then you should see the greenish colored whey in the milk.
After you see the milk has curdled completely and you see the watery, greenish whey, remove from heat and immediately pour entire mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer/colander. Gather the edges of the cheesecloth carefully, as the milk mixture is very hot. Run some water over the gathered bundle to rinse. Squeeze very gently to remove excess moisture.
Put the cheesecloth bundle onto one plate and under another, weighing the top plate with a heavy object (about a pound). Let sit for 30-40 minutes. Or, hang the bundle from your kitchen faucet for one hour so it can drain into the sink. Let sit in refrigerator about 20 minutes, and can then be used immediately or refrigerated 2-3 days.
Charoset is one part of the Passover seder, and it comes in different forms that might look similar to fruit and nut relish, a thick spread, or a pliable sweet truffle like you see here. Its name come from the Hebrew word for “clay,” and it’s meant to recall the mortar Jews used to construct the Egyptian pharaoh’s buildings.
Along with fruit and nuts, charoset is made with spices, wine or fruit juice and often a binder like honey. Ingredients depend on what’s abundant in the area where it’s made, like this Moroccan-inspired version that relies on dates and other dried fruit.
Ingredients
¾ – 1 cup Turkish dried apricots, cut into ¼’s
6 – 9 dates, pitted and crowns removed, roughly chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup almonds and shelled pistachios, mixed
2-4 Tbsp raw honey
2-3 Tbsp grape juice, kosher wine or pomegranate molasses (reserve for end)
Optional: Additional finely ground almond flour or shredded coconut, for rolling balls in
Directions
Make sure there are no crowns/pits/stems in dried fruit.
Pre-chop nuts in food processor so they’re close to the size you’d like. Remove from food processor and set aside. Separate and save any dust/crumbs for rolling the balls in.
Add dried fruit, cinnamon, honey to food processor. Blend everything together completely. If texture is too thick, add grape juice/wine/pomegranate molasses, to thin it out.
Add chopped nuts (minus dust) back into food processor along with fruit mixture. Pulse several times to incorporate into fruit mixture but not chop nut pieces too much smaller.
Roll mixture into balls about 1” inch diameter. Roll these in reserved nut dust, as well as additional ground almond flour and/or shredded coconut as desired.
Store in a cool place in a tightly sealed container.
This recipe takes only about ½ hour, is fairly easy and packs a lot of flavor. It’s versatile, besides dipping chips you can: roll it up in tortillas with shredded chicken; scoop it onto scrambled eggs and/or breakfast potatoes; dress up a hamburger or hot dog; add to the top of your bowl of beans or baked potato; mix into cooked pasta shapes so it’s like a cheesy noodle casserole…so many possibilities!
Ingredients
1 lb uncooked chorizo, or ground turkey or beef with 1 taco seasoning spice packet
1 white or red onion, finely diced
1 small bell pepper or poblano pepper, seeded/finely diced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
¾ lb Monterey Jack or other stringy melting cheese, shredded
¼ lb pepper jack, shredded
Sprinkle of chili powder
Sprinkle of garlic granules
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Tortilla Chips for serving
Optional Toppings:
1 Roma tomato, diced
2 scallions, sliced into rings
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°.
In a large skillet, cook and crumble chorizo or other ground meat until brown. Stir in chili powder and garlic granules. Mix in taco seasoning packet if using meat other than chorizo. Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel. Pour off excess fat from skillet, leaving a little.
Add onions, peppers and corn to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until veggies are soft and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside.
In a medium oven-proof skillet, place 1/3 of cheese and then half the meat. Add another 1/3 of cheese and then as much of veggies as can fit, along with rest of meat and finally the rest of the cheese. There may be some ingredients left, just make sure to reach the top of the skillet. Everything will shrink once cheese melts.
Remove from oven and top with cilantro, and diced tomatoes and scallions if using. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Freezing instructions: Allow queso to cool completely by sitting at room temp for 1/2 hour or more. Stir occasionally while it cools to help release excess heat, then transfer to fridge to cool further. Divide into smaller, manageable portions. Get as much air out as possible and seal in containers or bags. Will last in freezer for 2-3 months, and may not be quite as creamy-smooth as the first day…but pretty close!
St. Paddy’s Day is a great time to make this recipe, as is every other day of the year! It’s easy to make and goes great alongside soups, stews, chili or any hearty main dish. Or, cut yourself a nice big slice and enjoy for breakfast with butter and jam. It comes together quickly, no yeast needed.
Using Bob’s Red Mill for this creation makes it easy for you and includes xanthan gum in “1 to 1 Baking Flour.” If you use the Gluten Free All-Purpose flour, you’ll have to add xanthan gum separately.
Ingredients
3 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, or 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour PLUS 1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
½ unsalted butter, cold
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp buttermilk, divided
2/3 cup Zante currants, soaked in apple juice or water
1 egg, room temperature
1 Tbsp melted butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until pea-sized crumbs. Stir in currants.
In a small bowl, mix the egg and 1 cup buttermilk. Add to flour/butter mixture and gently stir with a spatula. Next, using your hands, mix batter together until wet, sticky dough can be shaped into a ball. Place dough ball onto parchment-lined pan.
Combine melted butter and 1 Tbsp buttermilk in a small bowl and brush onto loaf. Cut an “X” in the top of the loaf.
Bake 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown and no wet batter is visible in the “X” slit. Let cool on pan for 10 minutes before moving to cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Here’s a great way to show off your newfound talent for making poached eggs. Find the recipe on our website here.
This salad is a sophisticated combo of flavors and textures, with a dressing that comes together with the piercing of the poached egg yolk. A great meal any time of day!
Ingredients
4 cups torn frisee
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ lb slab bacon or pancetta, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 shallot, chopped
2-4 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt
4 poached eggs
Black pepper
Directions
Put greens in large salad bowl.
Put olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When hot, add bacon. Cook slowly about 10 minutes, until thoroughly crisp. Add shallot and cook until softened, 1-2 minutes. Add vinegar and mustard to the skillet and bring just to a boil while stirring. Turn off heat.
Cook 4 poached eggs according to the poached egg recipe.
Gently reheat dressing if needed. Pour over greens (they’ll wilt a little), toss and season with salt/pepper to taste. Top each portion with an egg and serve immediately. Each person breaks the egg over their salad.
