Dessert

Vanilla yoghurt panna cotta with sumac strawberries and arak strawberry granita recipe

Name: Vanilla and strawberry panna cotta recipe
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 platinum-strength gelatine leaves; 300ml thickened cream; 200ml milk; 220.00g caster sugar; 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped; 100g natural Greek-style yoghurt; 250g strawberries, hulled; 80ml sugar syrup; 40.00 ml liqueur; 2 tsp lemon juice; 25.00 ml sumac; 20.00 ml sumac; 2 cinnamon quills; 5 whole star anise; 20.00 ml strawberry liqueur; 250g strawberries, hulled, sliced

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Vanilla yoghurt panna cotta with sumac strawberries and arak strawberry granita

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by Shane Delia

Author

Nov 17, 2023

“After a long winter of heavy desserts, in spring I love nothing more than a little freshness to finish my meal. This recipe is super simple, and any leftover granita is great in a smoothie, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and sliced stone fruit, or added to a small glass of arak as an aperitif. We need to celebrate the seasons, when produce is at its best! When strawberries are in season, you can really tell – they’re a deep red, they’re full of flavour and they have this beautiful perfume.” – Shane Delia

2 platinum-strength gelatine leaves
300ml thickened cream
200ml milk
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
100g natural Greek-style yoghurt

Arak strawberry granita

250g strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup (80ml) sugar syrup (see notes)
2 tbs arak (Middle Eastern aniseed spirit)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 tbs sumac

Sumac strawberries

1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
1 tbs sumac
2 cinnamon quills
5 whole star anise
1 tbs strawberry liqueur
250g strawberries, hulled, sliced

Method

1.

For the panna cotta, place the gelatine leaves in a bowl and cover with cold tap water. Stand for 5 minutes until softened. Meanwhile, place the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Remove pan from the heat. Drain gelatine and squeeze out any excess moisture. Add gelatine to the hot cream mixture, whisking until dissolved. Set aside to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then whisk in the yoghurt until smooth. Strain into a large jug, discarding solids, then pour evenly into 4 glass serving bowls. Chill overnight until softly set.
2.

Meanwhile, for the granita, place all ingredients in a blender with 1/2 cup (125ml) water. Whiz until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container, cover. Freeze overnight. Once frozen, scrape the ice with a fork to break up the crystals and then return to the freezer, covered, until ready to serve.
3.

On the day of serving, for the sumac strawberries, place sugar, sumac, cinnamon quills, star anise and 100ml water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove pan from heat and stir in liqueur.
4.

Transfer to a heatproof bowl and stand for 15 minutes to cool slightly. While liquid is still warm, add strawberries, stirring to combine and coat well. Chill, uncovered, until cool, then transfer to an airtight container. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
5.

To serve, spoon sumac strawberries over each panna cotta. Top with granita.

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Recipe Notes

Begin this recipe the day before.

To make sugar syrup, bring 1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar and 1/4 cup (60ml) water to the boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil for 2 minutes to slightly reduce.