Ricotta, Cinnamon and Honey Toast with Berry Compote

I have a confession…

I don’t like bacon and fried eggs.

I hope we can still be friends, but the smell of frying bacon and rubbery egg whites makes me quite nauseous. Just typing about it has my tummy doing flip flops. Poached and scrambled I’m okay with, but fried? Gag. Due to the bacon and (fried) eggs aversion I generally order some sort of vegetarian breakfast when we go out for the morning meal. Something involving loads of buttery mushrooms, spinach, perhaps salmon in lieu of bacon. Still, it’s all a bit heavy. Last year when we were traveling around Australia on our honeymoon we stayed at a hotel in Darwin as my birthday treat, and went out for breakfast too. What I encountered was hands down the best cafe breakfast I have ever had. A big call for this former-Melbournian. And there was not an egg in sight! My kind of breakfast. I still think lovingly of that breakfast, so attempted to re-create it…

I am never hungry first thing in the morning, talk to me at about 9-10am and I might be peckish but a meal at 7am is never going to fly with me. The light, sweetness of ricotta with honey on toast, sprinklings of cinnamon and lashings of a berry compote has my breakfast attention though. Don’t tell me you would prefer greasy bacon and eggs to this fresh gorgeousness? I won’t hear of it.

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Ricotta, Cinnamon and Honey Toast with Berry Compote

Good quality bread – I used a pane di casa loaf
A good lashing of ricotta – when I had access to fresh milk I would make my own, but these days store bought will do
Drizzling of honey – truly nectar of the Gods, brilliant stuff honey, we like strong redbox variety in this house
Cinnamon to sprinkle – I’m known to be heavy handed with this stuff, you should be too
Slivered almonds – to up the fancy factor
2 cups of frozen berries, I used raspberries
1/4 cup of caster sugar

Pop the berries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugars have dissolved and the berries have broken down a bit to create a syrupy goodness.

Meanwhile toast your bread lightly, spread your ricotta on, drizzle with honey and dust with cinnamon. Generously spoon the berry compote over and top with slivered almonds for a bit of crunch. More cinnamon optional.

Enjoy with a super strong latte, preferably in this Spring-like sunshine streaming into the farmhouse kitchen. Breakfast of champions! Champions who gag at the thought of fried eggs that is. I’m off to enjoy this sunshine while it lasts, apparently there is some nasty weather headed our way this afternoon, just in time for the weekend of course. Stay warm and toasty (pun intended)!