Honey & Basil Strawberries with Lemony Vegan Ricotta

So, I am playing around with my mock vegan ricotta cheese recipe I made the other day. I decided to make a bit of extra effort in the food photography department to go along with the snazziness of this dessert.
It is not a mistake that Basil & strawberry are hanging out together. Yes, Basil is an herb that goes very well in savoury and in sweet applications. I know it sounds mad but trust me it's sooooooo good!
One of the coolest I have had is a strawberry basil macaron from this wonderful place I adore. It's called Pâtisserie de Nancy on Monkland Avenue in NDG here in Montréal. I could not stand macarons until I tried one of theirs.
Oh! So divine! I adore the cherry one's best but the mojito, vanilla, along with the strawberry basil & the passion fruit are just as delightful! If you're ever in town you must stop there, I had a lovely convo with Nancy about her marvellous macarons-say that 3 times fast! I explained how surprised I was because every time I had had macarons before they had been so cloyingly sweet that my teeth hurt and I ended up throwing them away. She explained that her husband is the pastry Chef & he hails from France, he makes them the way he learned & perfected the recipe there and now I get to indulge in them here! This is the shop and some pics of her confections that I came across. I will post some of my own after my outing there with my soon-to-be maid of honour.







I am so eager to go there and get some scrumptious treats!
So, I suppose people would like the recipe. You will need the Vegan Mock Ricotta recipe on the previous post to make this simple & smashing dessert.

HONEY & BASIL STRAWBERRIES WITH LEMONY VEGAN RICOTTA:

Ingredients :
1 Cup Vegan Ricotta, chilled
Zest of 1 Lemon
2 Tbsp Organic honey(you may use Maple or Agave syrup to keep it vegan)
1 tsp Vanilla
4 Basil leaves sliced fine into a chiffonade
1 Cup Strawberries chopped small dice

Method:
-Chop strawberries, add Basil, vanilla, & honey. Stir gently & allow to macerate on the counter while prepping the vegan ricotta.
-Zest 1/2 the lemon into the ricotta, stir throughout.
-Serve by portioning out 1/4 cup of vegan ricotta into 4 pretty serving bowls.
-Evenly portion out the strawberry mixture.
-Zest a bit of lemon on top of the portions just before serving.
-Serve immediately.







                                       You can also use different fruits & herbs.




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