Pizza Margherita, Homemade Tomato Sauce, Homemade Ricotta (2024)

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Source: The Barefoot Contessa via Goop

Salt: If you are using Morton Kosher salt or sea salt, use 3/4 teaspoon.

Milk and Cream: If you can find milk and cream that is not “ultra-pasteurized”, buy them. I never can find non “ultra-pasteurized” heavy cream but it doesn’t seem to matter.

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk, see notes above
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1.5 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or other white vinegar you like

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1. Set a large fine-mesh sieve over a deep bowl. Line the sieve with two layers of folded cheesecloth (so roughly 4 single layers).
2. Pour the milk and cream into a stainless steel or enameled pot. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally — do not walk away. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute or until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).
3. Pour the mixture into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally transferring the liquid that collects in the bowl to another storage vessel. In the end you will have 2 cups of ricotta and 4 cups of whey. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth. Save the whey — you can make bread with it.
4. Taste the ricotta. Season with more salt if you wish. Use the ricotta immediately or transfer it to a storage vessel, and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. It will thicken considerably once chilled for 24 hours.

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This is a modified/simplified recipe of Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce with onion and butter. To sum up the changes: I don’t peel the tomatoes, I slice the onion and sweat it with the butter first, then add the tomatoes. After about an hour simmer, I purée it. This is just easier for me, and I find the taste of the sauce to still be fresh and bright.

Here I’ve doubled the quantities of the original recipe, so feel free to make a half batch or multiply the quantities if you wish, too.

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 4 pounds tomatoes, dice into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

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1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion and cook gently, lowering the heat if necessary, until the onions are soft, about 15 minutes. (The onions should take on very little color, but if they brown a little, it’s fine.)
2. Add the tomatoes and salt to the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring every so often to ensure the onion isn’t scorching on the bottom of the pan. (If you cover the pan for 2 minutes, the mixture will come to a boil more quickly.) Once the mixture is simmering, lower the temperature, so the mixture is gently bubbling—medium heat should do it. Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced and feels somewhat thick as you run a spoon through it. Purée with an immersion blender or transfer mixture to a food processor or blender (taking care to hold the lid down tightly lest it blast off due to the steam) and purée until smooth. Taste. Add more salt to taste.
3. Once cool, transfer to storage containers and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for months.