Dessert/ Fruit/ Gluten Free/ Italian/ Sauces/Condiments/ Vegetarian

Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta

Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta ~ Tart cherries served over creamy ricotta with drizzled balsamic reduction and mint. Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta ~ The Complete SavoristI have done some traveling lately. Just a bit. Ok, I have slept in more foreign beds in the last 60 days than in my own bed. Luckily for me, they have all been comfy beds, even those little, almost-on-the-ground, beds in Italy.

With all the traveling, I  have been devouring all my magazines. I subscribe to at least 10 different monthlies and 1 weekly. The monthlies pile up and then I spend a random weekend reading several months worth. Probably not the most effective way to go about reading them, but I surely look forward to my magazine reading weekends.

I don’t remember where I was or even what magazine I was reading, but I remember seeing this recipe for fresh cherries, lime juice, mint, and ricotta cheese. I am certain there were a lot more ingredients, but the magazine and I got separated on some plane ride or airport lounging and I have not been able to find it again.

This dish was recreated from an image stored in my memory. The balsamic is my own flourish. I had a new bottle from Italy I was itching to open. Plus, the lime juice and tart cherries seemed to be too much tartness for me. No doubt there was tons of sugar in the original recipe, but I do not recall how much.Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta ~ The Complete SavoristA couple of notes: I did not use my fancy balsamic since I was turning it into a sauce, but I decided to open the bottle anyway-and drink it. I chopped my mint and left it in the sauce, but you can leave the leaves whole and just remove the prior to serving. Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta ~ The Complete Savorist

Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta

Author: Michelle
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb cherries; cleaned , halved, and pitted
  • Ricotta cheese , about 1/3 cup per person +/- to taste

Mint-Balsamic Sauce

  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp mint; either whole leaf or finely chopped
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Clean, halve, and pit cherries, set aside.
  2. Decide to either keep mint whole or finely chop.

Mint-Balsamic Sauce

  1. In a sauce pan, add the balsamic vinegar, dark brown sugar, mint, and salt.
  2. Over a medium high heat, stirring or whisking constantly, reduce the vinegar to a syrup. Reduce for 5 minutes for thiner syrup to about 10 minutes for a thicker syrup, the longer it is reduced, the thicker it will be. If using whole leaf mint, remove and discard the leaf.
  3. In a bowl, add the ricotta cheese and cherries, drizzled several teaspoons of the reduction over the top.
  4. Serve and enjoy.

 

Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta ~ The Complete SavoristThis is my adaptation of some recipe from some magazine I read recently; I must give some sort of credit.Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta ~ The Complete SavoristAnother practice picture. Dark on dark was too much, but I still like it.

So, will you leave your mint leaves whole or go extra-minty and chop them up?

Balsamic Cherries and Ricotta ~ The Complete Savorist

Thank you for sharing!

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43 Comments

  • Reply
    Florian @ContentednessCooking
    July 14, 2015 at 2:44 am

    Wow I love all the flavors! The combination between cherries and balsamic are marvelous!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:14 am

      Thank you Florian…hope you can find a way to enjoy it Vegan-style.

  • Reply
    Travel Animal Doctor
    July 14, 2015 at 5:15 am

    This looks phenomenal. It seems meant to be that I stumbled upon this recipe today, since we just bought cherries at the farmer’s market on Sunday. *Rubs hands together* Can’t wait.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:14 am

      Let me know how you like it. I drenched mine in the balsamic, as I am a super-fan of the stuff.

  • Reply
    Kirsten
    July 14, 2015 at 5:15 am

    Michelle,
    I was in NW Montana recently where I learned about Flathead Lake cherries. It’s got me craving cherries like crazy (and we’ll be passing through upper lower Michigan next month so I’ll keep on the fixation). This combo looks wonderful–and since the tomatoes won’t turn I’m eyeing my massive stand of mint thinking I’ve got to do something with it when I cut it back.
    Thanks!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:16 am

      Thank you Kirsten. I am interested in these Flathead Lake cherries you’ve mentioned, I am going to look into them. I hope you enjoy this.

  • Reply
    allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
    July 14, 2015 at 5:33 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely gorgeous Michelle! I love fresh cherries! Really stunning.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:16 am

      Thank you Allie! I appreciate the kindness.

  • Reply
    Debra @ Worth Cooking
    July 14, 2015 at 6:03 am

    Your giving me the magazine reading itch. I haven’t ever really subscribed, but a weekend of being inspired with beautiful photos and creative recipes (that doesn’t involve surfing the internet but actually having a book in my hand) sounds delightful.

    I had to come check this out because of the balsamic vinegar and cherries, two ingredients I am completely obsessed with. They sound divine with ricotta.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:18 am

      Oh magazine/book reading, paper in hand, there is nothing better. My daughter takes over the living room tv and I go sprawl on my bed. It’s a glorious time.

  • Reply
    Julie @ Texan New Yorker
    July 14, 2015 at 8:05 am

    So gorgeous! I’m loving cherry season right now, and I love your idea of pairing them with ricotta!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:19 am

      Thank you Julie, I hope you enjoy it.

  • Reply
    Kimberly Ann @ Bake Love Give
    July 14, 2015 at 8:13 am

    That is totally how I read magazines too. Then I forget which magazine actually had the recipe I want to make at the end of the day and do a similar game of recreating from memory. This looks fabulous – great flavor combinations pulled from your inspiration recipe.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:20 am

      I am so happy to hear I am not alone!

  • Reply
    Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen
    July 14, 2015 at 8:16 am

    Now that is a gorgeous plate of food. I’m salivating!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:20 am

      Thank you Kristi. I was hoping it was drool-worthy.

  • Reply
    The Food Hunter
    July 14, 2015 at 8:57 am

    I could eat this for breakfast easily!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:20 am

      Excellent to hear. I would too.

  • Reply
    Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets)
    July 14, 2015 at 10:03 am

    Beautiful dessert Michelle…ricotta is so underused in desserts, which is a shame given how healthy it is.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 14, 2015 at 11:21 am

      Thank you Sandi…I can just open a tub and eat it and pretend it is cottage cheese.

  • Reply
    Julia
    July 14, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    Cherry season is my favorite!! I used to live in Michigan and we had the best cherries ever. This looks so perfect with the ricotta!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 16, 2015 at 1:04 am

      I need to try Michigan cherries, I have heard about them.

  • Reply
    Debra @ Bowl Me Over
    July 14, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    Such an amazing dessert, showstopper!

  • Reply
    lizzy
    July 15, 2015 at 9:34 am

    This is so mouthwatering… I love that you used balsamic in a dessert – I am not as familiar with doing this but I am def. going to start. Awesome recipe!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 16, 2015 at 1:11 am

      Balsamic in desserts is AMAZING.

  • Reply
    Emily | Rainbow Delicious
    July 15, 2015 at 11:44 am

    I remember the first time I tried balsamic with strawberries and my mind was blown at how good balsamic pairs with fruits… this recipe is right down my alley and I hope to try it soon, yum!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 16, 2015 at 1:14 am

      I hope you get the opportunity to try it. Thanks Emily.

  • Reply
    christine
    July 16, 2015 at 6:40 am

    Oh my my my my my. I’m madly in love with this. Balsamic and fruit are such a great pair, combined w/ that creamy ricotta – oh yes.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 16, 2015 at 11:23 pm

      Thank you Christine. It’s a simple yet yummy dish.

  • Reply
    Joy @ Joy Love Food
    July 17, 2015 at 7:17 am

    Wow, this is gorgeous, I wish I could dig into a plate right now!

  • Reply
    Sandra
    July 19, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    4 stars
    I can’t wait to give this a try, and I better hurry before the fresh cherry season is over!

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 20, 2015 at 4:07 am

      Yes, cherry season will be over soon.

  • Reply
    Healing Tomato
    July 20, 2015 at 7:05 am

    5 stars
    Balsamic and Cherries in Ricotta is the best dessert combination! Must try this now.

    • Reply
      Michelle
      July 20, 2015 at 10:57 am

      Thank you HT, I think you will enjoy it.

  • Reply
    Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
    July 22, 2015 at 6:02 am

    Oooh this looks yummy! I love using balsamic with roasted strawberries but have never tried it with cherries. Sounds great 🙂

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    Eden Passante
    October 5, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    These are basically all my favorite things put together! It looks amazing!

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