Greek yoghurt honey panna cotta

This recipe makes an elegant dessert that speaks to all the goodness of the Mediterranean diet with a long list of classic Greek ingredients. It’s an easy make-ahead dish so preparing it for a dinner party is easy.

Greek yoghurt honey panna cotta. Credit: My Greek Table

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 tsp gelatine
• 1 cup full cream (whole) milk
• 1 cup thick (heavy) cream
• 2 strips orange peel
• ¼ cup (3 tbsp) Greek honey
• 2 cups vanilla bean yoghurt

Topping

• 2½ tbsp chopped walnuts
• 3 tsp extra virgin Greek olive oil
• 2 apples, cored and diced
• 1½ tbsp Corinthian currants
• Pinch sea salt
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• Pinch cinnamon
• Thyme honey, to drizzle (or other honey)

Standing time: 10 minutes. Chilling time: at least 1 hour.

Instructions

1. Soften the gelatine in a couple of tablespoons of milk for 10 minutes.
2. In a medium saucepan gently heat the remaining milk. Add the cream and cook over low heat to warm through. Add the orange zest and the honey. Whisk for a minute or so until everything is well combined.
3. Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatine mixture, whisking to get out as much of the lumpiness as possible. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Fold the vanilla bean yogurt slowly into the bowl, gently stirring to combine well. The consistency should be really thick and creamy.
4. Fill six cups, ramekins or glass two-thirds of the way up with the cream mixture. Refrigerate them for at least an hour or up to overnight to set.
5. While the panna cotta is setting, prepare the topping. Heat a dry skillet over low heat and add the walnuts to toast them lightly for a few minutes, stirring to keep them from burning. Add 2 olive oil and the diced apples and stir it all around. Add the currants next. Season with salt and brown sugar and stir to coat. Sprinkle the cinnamon. Keep stirring the mix so that the sugar doesn’t totally caramelise the apples. The mixture is ready when the apples are soft.
6. Add a tablespoon of topping on each of the panna cotta cups and drizzle with a teaspoon of thyme honey. Garnish with fresh mint and serve.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.