Rigouta

Ingredients

Whey

• 4 litresfresh sheep’s whey, from cheesemaking
• 500 mlwhole sheep’s or cow’s milk
• 1 tbspwhite vinegar or lemon juice, if needed

To serve

• bread, or bsissa
• honey, or olive oil and salt
• for pastries and stuffed brik

Directions

1. Use the whey within an hour or two of draining it. Rigouta is made from the small amount of protein left in whey after cheesemaking, and once the whey sours those proteins will not gather cleanly.
2. Pour the whey and the milk into a wide pan. The milk is what makes the yield worth having — whey alone gives a disappointing spoonful.
3. Heat slowly to 88 to 92°C (190 to 198°F), stirring only until it is warm and then stopping altogether.
4. Stop stirring once it is hot. The curd forms as a fragile raft on the surface, and stirring breaks it into specks that slip through the cloth.
5. Watch for fine white flecks rising and gathering into a soft mass. If nothing appears by 90°C (194°F), add the vinegar a teaspoon at a time and wait.
6. Hold it just below a simmer for five minutes without disturbing it. Never boil it — boiled whey curd goes rubbery and squeaky.
7. Lift the curd out with a slotted spoon into a cloth-lined basket or sieve.
8. Let it drain for 20 minutes only. Rigouta is meant to be wet, loose and barely holding together, and a long drain turns it into something drier and duller.
9. Eat it the same day, unsalted, spooned onto bread with honey, or with olive oil and salt. It sours within two days and is not a keeping cheese.

Technique

• Fresh whey, wide pan, no stirring once hot, never a boil.
• Drain twenty minutes and no more.
• Eat it the day it is made.

Substitutions

• Cow’s whey, though sheep’s whey is what Beja rigouta is.
• Whole milk alone with a little vinegar, which gives a similar fresh curd if you have no whey.
• Bought ricotta, its Italian equivalent.

Variations

• Stuffed into malsouka pastry, or into sweet pastries with orange blossom.
• The Italian ricotta and Greek mizithra are made exactly this way.

History

Made in the Beja region from sheep’s whey and traditionally sold in woven baskets or reed containers.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rigouta?

Rigouta is a cheese & dairy from Tunisia: fresh unsalted whey cheese from Beja, spooned onto bread or into pastries. Made in the Beja region from sheep’s whey and traditionally sold in woven baskets or reed containers.

How long does Rigouta take to make?

Rigouta takes 15 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 400 g. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Rigouta?

Yes, within limits. Cow’s whey, though sheep’s whey is what Beja rigouta is. Whole milk alone with a little vinegar, which gives a similar fresh curd if you have no whey. Bought ricotta, its Italian equivalent.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rigouta?

Hold it just below a simmer for five minutes without disturbing it. Never boil it — boiled whey curd goes rubbery and squeaky.