Ricotta Salata

This doesn't even sound like a cheese does it? It sounds like a salad. Ricotta Salata is best described as a dry Italian Feta. It is very unusual and very misunderstood. It's pressed and dried before it's aged. Which accounts for it's milky white color and dense/spongy texture and salty yet milky flavor. I'm sure you have heard of Ricotta Cheese which is creamy and grainy like Cottate Cheese almost. Well this is simply dried salted and pressed Ricotta Cheese. In Italy Ricotta means "recooked" and Salata means "salted". It comes from sheep not cow. Use ricotta salata to dice into salads of all kinds--particularly pasta salads and spinach salads or serve with fresh or grilled vegetables, beans, and fruit. Its firm texture makes it perfect for tossing. Also try ricotta salata crumbled over garlicky sauteed vegetables, tomato-based sauces and bean dishes. It's very firm which makes it great for grating or shaving. I have never found this in any store with specialty cheeses, so I can't tell you how much per ounce it costs. It was an ingredient in one of the recipes I did from Rachael Ray recently and since I couldn't find it, I used a block of Parmesan Cheese which is not even closely related and you could tell from the taste that I should have looked harder for the misunderstood ricotta salata.