Natural Simplicity

Fichi, Ricotta, Biscotti, Menta & Miele

Fig, Ricotta, Cookies, Mint & Honey

As you know, although I do come up with sweet dishes every now and then, they are not really my strong point. Desserts can be so complicated! Baking requires you sticking to recipes- ugh! You know that is not going to go down to well with me! And a lot of dishes are time consuming, needing you to prepare things in several steps to allow for cooling, setting, freezing etc...

Not for me! I like things to be quick, easy and delicious... for things to be combined well and to work all by themselves- just like this lovely little creation here! Just 5 minutes prep-work was all it took, the whisk up the ricotta until it was nice and smooth... whilst Mother Nature took care of the rest for me... and for you all too!

 

Ricotta in its natural state is not a favorite of mine, as it tends to have a slightly "mealy" consistency which is not particularly nice... but simply whisking it at a high speed, with a little lemon juice and sugar (or Stevia ;-) ) will take care of that nicely. After 4-5 minutes of whisking, it becomes fluffy and smooth and perfect! So- that was the first component of my little dessert- and onto a plate it went in a neat little mound... just waiting for that juicy, sweet fig!

I simply cut the fig in half, then turned it and halve it again and then, in turn, sliced those pieces in half again too, but never cutting all the way down, so that the fig holds together and can be then spread out decoratively like the petals of a flower- lovely! So that was exactly what I did- I set it on top of the creamy ricotta and spread it out... ready for a little something crunchy to be added...

I used some simple egg and butter cookies, similar to Italian "savoiardi" or "ladies fingers",  but in a round form, but of course you can use whichever cookies you might prefer. I cut these round cookies into quarters with a sharp knife, and then set a piece of cookie in-between each slice of the fig... which is pretty and simple- and delicious to boot!

Finally I added a light drizzle of honey and a nice sprig of mint as a garnish. But of course I plucked the mint into little pieces and spread it over the dessert before eating it- and what a great addition to an already wonderful combination it was!

So as you can see- minimum ingredients, minimum work and maximum enjoyment! And all, very, very good stuff for you to enjoy ... because life CAN be so easy!