Spring is in the air and berries are coming into season. Nothing to me bridges the winter-spring crossover like the meeting up of oranges and blueberries. There is something special about the two bonding over a something creamy and dreamy in my mouth. I think that introduces my palate quite well, but to introduce myself…

My name is Lydia and I am 1/2 of the team at the food and travel blog Suitcase Foodist. From exploring a passion for persimmons to literally exploring Istanbul or Italy we write about food and discovery.

I recently found myself in possession of a pint of blueberries and some ricotta and though to myself: “Self, you should make a ricotta pie, sprinkled liberally with those lovely berries!” And then I hit a roadblock. The trouble was a pantry bare of basic pie making ingredients such as flour and butter to make a crust. Oh, and I always fail at making pie crusts. That too.

Not wanting to sprint off to the store on a whim I decided to make due. I’d heard of taking ricotta and baking it with fresh herbs and lots of olive oil as a sort of savory pure cheese tart.

And so with that in mind, this little recipe was born. It was a birth of necessity and craving and a touch of laziness – but so much of cooking is based on what happens to be in the fridge in the moment, so I don’t feel to poorly about it.

Citrus Blueberry-Mint Baked Ricotta

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Ingredients

• 32 oz Full Milk Ricotta
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 2 tablespoons Fresh Mint, roughly chopped
• Zest from 1 Orange
• 6 oz clamshell Fresh Blueberries

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whip together the ricotta, egg yolks, grape seed oil and honey until incorporated. Fold in the mint and orange zest.
3. Pour the mixture into an 8" pie plate. Dot the top with blueberries - pushing them 1/2 way down into the ricotta. Make sure the berries are evenly spaced with a small gap in between each one.
4. Bake in the oven at 425 for 30-35 minutes until the ricotta is golden on top and the berries look ready to burst. When you remove it from the oven, it will be slightly puffed up but will reduce in size as it cools.
5. Serve warm with fresh berries or let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate and serve cold.

If you like this recipe, you might enjoy these additional dessert recipes by Suitcase Foodist:

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies with Fig Mascarpone Frosting

2 Ingredient Lime Curd Semifreddo

Spanish Churros & Chocolate

 

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Lydia is immersed in the food world full time. From the Suitcase Foodist blog, to marketer for Whole Foods Market to freelance event planning, to food centric travel – the next meal is literally the lynchpin of her life.