Servings: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
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for the homemade ricotta:
1 pint|473 ml heavy cream
1 quart|946 ml whole milk
1 pinch kosher salt
1 ounce|30 ml fresh lemon juice
1 stalk anise hyssop, finely chopped
Special equipment for the ricotta:
thermometer
cheesecloth
for the marinated Japanese eggplant:
3-4 large pieces Japanese eggplant, sliced into rounds
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3 large purple long beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 tablespoons blended oil (70% canola; 30% extra-virgin olive oil)
6 tablespoons black vinegar (Chinkiang vinegar)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, roughly chopped into large pieces
2 pieces multi-color heirlooms carrots, sliced into rounds
1 stalk anise hyssop
Directions
- First, make the ricotta. In a large saucepan over medium, add the milk, cream, and salt together. Stir constantly to ensure the liquid doesn’t burn on the bottom, and bring the mixture to 190° F degrees.
- Stir the lemon juice into the mixture and remove from heat. Curds will start to form in the mixture almost immediately. Allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes.
- Set up a double layer of cheesecloth or a thin, clean towel over a strainer. Carefully ladle the ricotta over the cheesecloth. Reserve the strained liquid to help control the consistency of the finished cheese later.
- Taste the ricotta and season with more salt and lemon juice as needed. If ricotta is too thick, add a few tablespoons of the reserved strained liquid to thin it out.
- When cool, fold in the chopped anise hyssop and refrigerate overnight to allow all flavors to meld.
- Next, make the eggplant. Sprinkle the eggplant slices evenly with 1 teaspoon of the salt and set aside for about 30 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan over high, bring 4 cups|946 ml water to a boil. Add the long beans and cook until brightly colored and just slightly tender, about 1 minute. Set beans aside and roughly chop when cool.
- In a medium sauté pan over medium, heat the tablespoon of olive oil and add the eggplant, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is caramelized, 6-8 minutes. Set eggplant aside.
- Mix the blended oil and black vinegar together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, lemongrass, long beans, carrots and eggplant. Allow mixture to sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld.
- Pick the blossoms off the hyssop and roughly chop a few leaves. Strain the marinated eggplant mix and reserve the vegetables. Discard the lemongrass. Mix the marinated vegetables and the hyssop.
- To serve, arrange a few tablespoons of homemade ricotta on a plate and top with marinated eggplant.
From Dirty Work: Marinated Japanese Eggplants with Homemade Ricotta from Bobby Hellen of GG’s
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