Tofu Salata

This is my take on replacing the classic Southern Italian cheese called Ricotta Salata, which is basically a pressed semi-hard cheese made from the whey of sheep’s milk. It is salty and often used to season Southern Italian pasta dishes.

My version uses a firm block of tofu to replace the cheese. I’ve seen many variations of making a vegan version of Ricotta Salata, but most are far too involved or they used heavily processed ‘vegan cheese.’ I didn’t want to go down that road. But after considering the flavors and textures of the original version using ricotta, I thought…hey, wait a moment, the texture is virtually identical to firm tofu. And to be frank, the flavor of ricotta salata is bland with a slight acidity and definite saltiness. So that’s where I began to think about incorporating these taste characteristics into the tofu. I didn’t want to use a blender for this task because I thought this would just end up in a big ball of seasoned tofu (although it probably would have worked). Instead, I decided to begin with grated tofu and work from there. It occurred to me that ricotta salata is always grated onto a pasta, so why not just begin in that state. Once I arrived at this thought, the rest was really simple: add some acid and salt and give the tofu a slight cheesiness. The end result is virtually identical to the texture and flavor of real ricotta salata – it just works nicely on pasta.

Tofu salata won’t last too long after making it. Keep unused portions in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Yield: 200 grams (about one cup)