Receta Raspberry Ricotta with Honey and Salt on Toast
Before I even tell you about this easy and crazy delicious breakfast, I have to apologize. The inspiration for this dish came from our trip to Montreal this fall, and I STILL haven’t done a recap! But I’m working on it, I promise. I have pictures from the trip in 3 different places and I keep forgetting where everything is. So….coming soon.
But until then, you’ll just have to settle for one of my favorite things that I got from our trip.
The first meal Nick and I had in Montreal was at a little restaurant called Olive et Gourmando, and I fell head-over-heels in love. Like….I wanted to set a cot in the corner and just live there.
The place was packed – definitely a good sign. We grabbed 2 seats at a bar, right in front of a 6-foot tall window opened to the streets, letting the breeze in through the potted rosemary and peppers in the window sill. As we sat and started to unwind from a long morning of traveling, we ordered sandwiches to share – the Cubain (oh.my.goodness. best sandwich ever) and a Smoked Trout Salad sandwich, plus a local beer for him and glass of wine for me.
Halfway thru lunch, a lady sat down beside us, taking the last seat. We ended up talking for the rest of our lunch and she gave us some fantastic restaurant suggestions. But her strongest suggestion was simply to come back to Olive et Gourmando for breakfast the next morning, because “breakfast here,” she said, “is even better than lunch.”
So we did. And it was.
Around 8 am on Saturday morning, we headed back for breakfast. And it was just as busy as it had been for lunch the day before. We grabbed two seats and, of course, I ordered in the wrong spot, but it all worked out.
After waiting for a few minutes with some delicious coffee, our orders showed up.
I had the Housemade Ricotta “sweet” – fresh ricotta with honey, orange zest, and Maldon salt. Served with toast.
Nick got the Poached egg on your face panini – spicy poached eggs with herbs and mayo, Comté cheese, speck, and slow roasted tomatoes.
We dug in, and neither one of us wanted to share. But we at least got one bite of each other’s breakfast, just to try it. And I’ve been dreaming of going back to Olive et Gourmando ever since. Truthfully, I just want to open a place like it here. Maybe one day.
But until then, I can at least make their dishes at home.
First this ricotta….next the spicy egg sandwiches.
Raspberry Ricotta with Honey and Salt on Toast
This breakfast is inspired by one of our favorite dishes we had during a trip to Montreal. The fresh ricotta, drowned in honey and sprinkled with salt (and, originally, orange zest), smeared on buttered toast is perfect for a light meal to start the day.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups plus 1 Tbsp milk, divided (I used skim, but you can use anything you have on hand)
- 1 cup greek yogurt (my favorite is Stonyfield)
- 3 tsp vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh raspberries, or thawed if you have frozen
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 4-6 slices of bread, toasted
- butter for toast
Directions:
Add milk, yogurt, and vinegar to large microwave safe bowl. Stir together.
Heat milk mixture in microwave on high for 7 minutes.
Remove and stir, slowly, for 2-3 minutes until the curds start to separate from the whey.
Pour mixture into a colander lined with cheesecloth, paper towels, or coffee filters, and let the cheese drain for 3-4 minutes.
Remove the cheese from the colander and place it in a container. Stir in 1 Tbsp of milk and mash in the raspberries, stirring until combined.
Divide the ricotta between 2 plates. Using a spoon, make a well in the center of the ricotta and pour 1 Tbsp of honey into each one. Sprinkle with salt.
Butter the toast and place on plate with ricotta. Smear ricotta and honey mixture on toast - repeat, repeat, repeat.