Homemade Salted Aged Ricotta

Salted, aged ricotta for grating: a key finishing touch in Sicilian cooking.

If Parmigiano is the king of the north, then ricotta salata is Sicily’s answer. This homemade version takes time and patience, but the result is a firm, salty cheese you can grate over pasta, especially in classic dishes like pasta alla norma. All it requires is fresh ricotta and a lot of salt; nothing else. Over the course of a few weeks, it loses moisture, firms up and develops a concentrate