"What is there in a name?" ...... is usually very relevant for most recipes .... The name itself will not give away the taste or make you imagine the texture when you take the first bite. But for this particular recipe, it was the name that left me wanting to make it as soon as I read it. The recipe has been adapted from Nigella Lawson's book "Nigellissima". I loved to read about her love affair with Italian food. Mine is not as intense as hers but I adore Italian food to the core. And even though, I may not prepare every single recipe she writes but I love to read about every single one. Her descriptions of recipes and ingredients and what the cooking process does to them are fascinating for a food lover.

Nigellissima was a farewell gift before I left Singapore and on the last day, before the movers came in to pack away the home, I made this recipe as I bid adieu to the city which had been home for many years ..... the last recipe I prepared before I left. And this was the right recipe in many ways - beautiful, simple and easy .... could be made easily once the berries were frozen and did not need any of the baking equipment that most recipes call for.

The recipe itself is sheer brilliance. The warm sauce thaws the berries and cools in the process lending an amazing array of temperatures in every bite. The berries are chilled, the sauce warm and cool in pockets and the overall experience a delight in every bite! The only difference was that I did not have any Limoncello so I ended up adding Aamrula to the sauce. I do suspect that the Amarula made it a tad heavy and lacked the brightness that Limoncello could have brought to the sauce but it was amazing nevertheless. And of course, as my own touch, I added the seeds of a vanilla bean to it and loved what the Vanilla bean did to the sauce. I only had raspberries and blackberries at home that day so just went ahead with those. A wider assortment of berries would definitely be nicer. For the sheer simplicity of making it and the visual appeal of something so stunning on the dinner table, the recipe is a must try.

Ingredients:

250 ml double cream

4 tablespoons Limoncello/Amarula

200g white chocolate chips/finely chopped

1 vanilla bean (seeds scraped)

500 g frozen mixed berries (unthawed) sometimes labelled summer fruits

Method:

1. Put the double cream, vanilla bean pod and seeds and 2 tablespoons Limoncello/Amarula in a milk pan and heat it until just about to come to a boil, but not actually boiling.

2. Take the pan off the heat and add the white chocolate, then swirl the pan about so that it is all submerged.

3. Take the berries out of the freezer and arrange them in a single layer in a dish or plate that has a small lip (so that the sauce does not drip off later). Sprinkle the remaining Limoncello/Amarula and leave for 5 minutes. The berries can also be placed in individual serving dishes.

4. In the meantime, stir the contents of the milk pan to allow the white chocolate to melt in the cream. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the the chocolate cream mixture till its smooth, then pour it over the berries and serve immediately.