Ricotta (or tofu for vegans) almond smoothie with rose water
VEGAN VERSION: replace the ricotta with silky soft tofu (not the hard one). And somehow this smoothie bursts with coconut flavor once again. Even though there is just 1 tablespoon of raw coconut oil!
Almonds give some extra nuttiness, ricotta some extra creaminess and rose water makes it a bit exotic and festive. Overall it's a very filling and satisfying snack that should keep your cravings under control until dinner time, even if you don't have a proper lunch, but only take this smoothie on the go. Color of the smoothie depends a lot on the juice that you use. The best option both for colorwise and flavorwise would be a quite strongly concentrated natural berry juice, preferably sharp red or purple color.
In any case this smoothie looks and tastes very creamy and indulgent. It was my aim to leave some fresh berries, fruit or greens out of my smoothie this time as I wanted it to be halfway to a decadent dessert, but if you start thinking about the ingredients,you realize that everything is healthy and nutritious anyway. There will be some nice brown dots in the smoothie - they look a bit like vanilla, but actually it's almond flour.
Ricotta or tofu almond smoothie with rose water
YIELD: 2 servings
TIME: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
200 g Ricotta or silky tofu for vegan version
200 ml natural berry juice
200 ml whole milk or plant-based milk for vegan and also just lighter version(rice-almond mix is perfect)
200 ml almonds + slivered almonds for garnish
juice of 1 small lemon
1 tbsp soft honey
1 tbsp soft extra virgin coconut oil
10 drops rose water
edible flowers for sprinkling (optional)
METHOD:
Grind the almonds in a food processor, Nutri Bullet or powerful blender.
De-seed lemon and squeeze onto the almonds.
Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth.
Pour into glasses and garnish with slivered almonds and edible flowers, if using.
SPECIAL TIPS:
If you leave the smoothie in fridge overnight, it will become a perfect thick breakfast that you can eat with spoon - kind of like overnight oats or soaked chia seeds. Or even as a lovely rose scented dessert - therefore you can also make it ahead in the morning and indulge as a sweet treat in the evening!
Feel free to play around with garnishes - you can be creative with them. I used edible flowers as an idea extension to the rosewater that is the special ingredient in this smoothie and chopped almonds, because almonds are an important part of the smoothie itself as well. I did not use cow milk, because I thought that it would become too milky this way, as ricotta itself is also very smooth creamy in its essence. Using plant-based milk balances it a bit I think, making it lighter and fresher. As for the rose water, I used Indian Natco rosewater.
Until next time!