Hi, I'm Christie - a self taught cook and self confessed cookbook and magazine addict!
I love the creativity of spontaneous cooking as well as the pleasure of planning and perfectly executing a meal.
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[Blood orange with ricotta, brazil nuts and honey]
Breakfast or dessert? You decide. The jury’s still out on my nuttiness though!
I’ve been following an excellent series on the Limes & Lycopene blog called 31 Days to a Better Diet. It’s written by Kathryn who is a Sydney based nutritionist and herbalist. I really enjoy reading her articles because she presents facts in an interesting and relaxed way and never sounds patronising like some health experts.
As the name suggests, this series is all about trying to improve what you eat as well as how and when you eat it. Some of Kathryn’s daily challenges include; know when you’re hungry, try having an opposite day (George Costanza style) or simply choose a different bread. Small steps add up to big changes.
I consider myself a really good eater, not because I eat a lot, but because I have a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and low fat protein sources in my diet. However there’s always something more to learn and I love finding new ideas to try.
So although I eat quite a lot of nuts and seeds, they are generally a mid afternoon snack, or sprinkled on a stir fry or salad. I don’t often eat nuts for breakfast or dessert and that’s how this recipe was born.
I’m a real ricotta addict fan and often eat it for breakfast on soy and linseed toast with a dash of cinnamon and banana slices. This time I enjoyed it with some juicy blood oranges and my favourite nuts of the moment – Brazils.
It’s super simple to prepare which is perfect if you’re half asleep in the morning or trying to assemble a quick dessert for guests. I think it’s a winner. Do you agree?
Happy cooking, Christie
Blood orange with ricotta, brazil nuts and honey
serves 2 (easily doubled, tripled or more!)
Note: If you don’t have access to blood oranges, regular oranges would be good too. I also think these flavours would be delicious with peaches, apricots or pears.
2 blood oranges
4-6 large brazil nuts
4 tablespoons ricotta
1 tablespoon runny honey
1. Using a sharp knife remove the skin and pith from the oranges and slice into rounds.
2. Place the brazil nuts in a plastic bag and seal. Bash with a rolling pin or tin of tomatoes to roughly chop. It’s OK if the chunks are all different sizes.
3. Arrange all the ingredients on two plates and serve immediately.
LOVE FRUIT? Give one of these recipes a try:
Pear wrapped in prosciutto
Pink grapefruit sparkling water
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23Comments
What a lovely dish Christie. Simple, but oh so beautiful. Ricotta is one of my secret ingredients – I use it in both sweet and savoury to impart creaminess – without using actual cream.
You’ve reminded me I don’t use brazil nuts anywhere near enough.
And thanks for linking to the 31 Days series – much appreciated.
Kathryn
What a beautiful and appealing dish. Somewhere between a salad and a dessert!
Ooh, dessert for breakfast! I’m always looking for weekend brekkie ideas so this is just perfect. Thanks Christie.
My favorite part of this dish is its flexibility–as you mentioned you can substitute many different fruits or nuts in this recipe. When I am in a pinch I depend on recipes like this, as you said Kathryn ricotta is a secret ingredient that can be used in so many ways.
YUM.
Megan of Bit of Nutmeg
Christy, this simple dish looks so good. I am a fan of blood oranges and adore ricotta. Thanks for the great food.
ah, george costanza. he had so few shining moments, but that episode was full of ‘em.
meanwhile, my verdict for this dish–breakfast AND dessert.
i just visited your blog for the first time and you ve got so mouthwatering dishes . your photos are great.
Oh yummy! My three favorite food groups!
Blood oranges
Nuts
Ricotta
Woo weeee!
Simple and luscious – A divine combination!
I’ve been reading every single post too. Kathryn’s my favourite nutrition blogger. I must say I’ve never prepared blog orang at home – isn’t one of her tips to try something different?
I looooooooove blood oranges and I loooooooove ricotta but the full fat ones of course!
Kathryn – Thanks for the inspiration!
Deborah – You’re right, it is salad-like.
Dee – Yep, it’s perfect for brunch.
Megan – I love flexible recipes too. Great for creativity!
Kim – Thanks, I had some lucky sunshine for the shot
Grace – Absolutely! Ahhh, gluttony, love it
Snookydoodle – Wow, thanks. Hope to see you back soon.
Collen – Me too!
Lisa – Thank you.
Mallika – Ditto. And yes, it is. Hopefully you can find some blood oranges, they are so good!
Jude – Full fat all the way baby! Hey, I miss you.
I’ve never thought of putting ricotta in something sweet, but it definitely works here. I like all the different textures and colors. I aspire to eat as healthy as you do
.
Looks and sounds fantastic Christie. Will definately be giving this a go!
Looks like its out of this world
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This is a splendid recipe! I ended up having walnuts and not brazil: I melted and browned sugar, tossed in the nuts to toast them and coat them lightly, and took out the nuts as garnish whole. Then took the pan, added a spoon of marmalade and some marsala, and made a pretty hard syrup – used a spoonfull of that on each plate in lieu of honey – absolutely wonderful. Am very grateful you thought of this! Thanks!
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christie, m a huge fan of blood orange
sound great for breakfast.. yummmm!! gonna try this out with cashewnuts and walnuts 
thanx for sharing.. cheers!!
hi christie,
I will try this recipe next week. could I use it in my next newsletter if I give you credits, because I have a wonderfull ricotta di bufala to sell.
best regards from berlin
Hi Philippe,
Of course! I’ll email you personally
Christie
I made this with homemade mascarpone and pistachios. So rich and delicious and EASY! Never would have though to put that combo together. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi Esi,
I’m so glad you enjoyed this combination of flavours! I adore mascarpone and the pistachios would have added lovely colour. I might try your combination myself
Christie