Fresh Farmers Cheese with Socca

Photo by Robyn Maguire / Styled by Catrine Kelty

Fresh farmers cheese paired with warm-from-the-oven socca is my wife’s favorite starter—and mine, too. You can use this simple cheese on breads, salads or as a dip with grilled and raw vegetables. Making fresh cheese at home is a great technique to learn—all you need is fresh milk, cream and lemon juice. And spring milk really tastes different; think about the diet of the cows in spring. They’re eating the freshest grasses, clover, even wildflowers and it makes a difference in the flavor of the milk they produce. The socca reminds me of the recipe I used to make at Campagne in Seattle; it’s not focaccia, it’s not pizza dough, it’s a classic Provençal flatbread made with chickpea flour, giving it a nice flavor and density. Serve the socca warm with a little ramekin of farmers cheese for spreading, so much more interesting than crackers with cheese.

Serves 4

FARMERS CHEESE

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice

SOCCA

¼ ounce instant dry yeast
8 ounces whey, room temperature (from making the farmers cheese above)
12 ounces all-purpose flour
4 ounces chickpea flour
1 ounce extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1½ teaspoons kosher salt

FARMERS CHEESE:
Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart stainless steel saucepan, place it over medium-low heat and warm the milk to 190°F, stirring occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice, slowly stirring once or twice. Let the pot sit for 5 minutes. Do not stir the mixture during this time.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the sieve and allow to drain at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Reserve the liquid for use in the socca dough (see recipe below). Remove the cheese from the strainer and transfer to a mixing bowl.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to help the cheese firm slightly.

SOCCA:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yeast and whey together. Then mix in the flours, olive oil and salt.

Stir until a dough forms; transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Uncover the dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface; cut the dough into 4 pieces, then using a rolling pin roll each piece into a rectangle, each ¼-inch thick. Transfer rectangles to 2 13-by-18-inch oiled, rimmed baking sheets, then cover evenly with more olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on top. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough is puffed, about 1 hour. Bake until the squares are golden brown at the edges, about 20 minutes, turning halfway.

Let soccas cool for 10 minutes before cutting into smaller squares to serve with a ramekin of farmers cheese for spreading.

This recipe appeared in the Spring 2021 issue as part of a larger story called “Printemps en Provence: A Sunday Lunch Menu.”