Ricotta with Berries and Bitter Honey

• Recipe by Efisio Farris

“Toast and ricotta is a common part of the morning meal in Sardinia,” Farris says. “But when you drizzle those ingredients with bitter honey and and add berries in a syrup, you have a great dessert.” The recipe is extremely easy; the only step that requires any effort at all is making the syrup.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups fresh ricotta, preferably from sheep’s milk
2. 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Sardinian bitter honey (see Note)
3. Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
4. Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
5. 1 tablespoon sugar
6. 1 cup raspberries
7. 8 large strawberries, stemmed and quartered
8. 1 to 2 sheets of pane carasau (see Note)
9. 1 tablespoon chopped mint

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a bowl, blend the ricotta with 2 tablespoons of the honey and the orange and lemon zests.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the orange and lemon juices with the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the honey and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Add the raspberries and strawberries and remove from the heat. Let stand, stirring a few times, until the berries are barely softened, about 4 minutes.
3. Put the pane carasau on the oven rack and bake for 4 minutes or until hot. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey and break into large pieces. Divide the ricotta mixture among shallow bowls. Spoon the berry mixture alongside and sprinkle with the mint. Serve the ricotta with the pane carasau.

Notes

Sardinian bitter honey, which has a nicely acrid aftertaste, is available at some specialty Italian food stores and from gourmetsardinia.com. Pane carasau, or carta da musica, is a traditional round Sardinian flat bread that’s thin, crisp and more than a foot wide. It’s also available at Italian specialty food stores and from gourmetsardinia.com.