BAKED RICOTTA WITH SPICED APRICOTS

SERVES 4 PREP 30 MINS COOK 2 HOURS 20 MINS + HANGING TIME

RICOTTA

2 litres lactose-free milk 400ml lactose-free cream 1 tsp salt juice 1 lemon

SPICED APRICOTS

200ml honey 2 star anise 6 cardamom, bruised 1 vanilla bean, sliced 1 each orange, lemon rind, juice 250g dried apricots, soaked 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted 2 tbsp flaked almonds

1 RICOTTA Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer 20 mins until curds form. Set aside 15-20 mins. Strain through a clean cloth.

2 SPICED APRICOTS Add honey, star anise, cardamom, vanilla bean and rind to pan on a low heat for 5 mins. Add juice and bring back to a simmer 5 mins. Add apricots. Simmer 2 mins. Cool in syrup.

Using a slotted spoon, lift curds gently from saucepan into the lined strainer over a bowl. Gently bunch top of cloth to seal, and place in fridge in strainer over bowl to drain excess liquid for a minimum of 2 hours.

Preheat oven to hot, 200°C. Break up large chunks of ricotta into an ovenproof dish. Pour over coconut oil. Scatter over almonds. Bake 15-20 mins until golden.

Spoon apricots and syrup over ricotta and serve.