Greg Malouf is one of our favourite chefs as he makes beautiful, simple food focusing on the provenance of the best ingredients. His newest cook book is called Suqar, the Arabic word for sugar, and is filled with over 100 recipes for delicious desserts from the Modern Middle East.
He, very kindly, let us share one of his earlier recipes here – of course it contains honey. Use the finest honey you can for best results, we’d recommend using Sidr for an authentic taste of the region. We’ve made this and can vouch that it’s simple to make and absolutely delicious.
Burnt honey and yogurt panna cotta with lime syrup, peaches and plums
PANNA COTTA- 360 g Honey
- 135 ml Orange Juice
- 7 ½ sheets Gelatine (1.6 g per sheet) Gold strength
- 450 g thickened cream 35% fat
- 1.2 kg natural yoghurt
- Walnut oil
- 50 g Iranian Candy Floss
200 g caster sugar 1 cup water, strips of zest from 1–2 limes, few slices fresh ginger (optional) 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
GARNISHPeaches, apricots, nectarines, blood plums and cherries, peeled and cubed edible flowers (optional) vanilla-flavoured Turkish or Persian fairy floss
DirectionsHeat the honey in a pot and cook and until a deep caramel is achieved. Stop the cooking with the orange juice. Allow the mix to cool slightly and add the gelatine to the warm mix.
Combine the cream and yoghurt mixing well. Add a little of this mix to the honey and gelatine, and then mix the caramel back into the cream and yoghurt. DO NOT whisk the mix, as bubbles will form. Strain the mix, and set the mix in moulds brushed with a little walnut oil. Refrigerate, allowing to set for at least 4 – 6 hours before serving.
To make the lime syrup, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently, swirling occasionally, to dissolve the sugar. When completely dissolved, bring to the boil, then add the lime zest, ginger, if using, and vanilla bean. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. When cold, remove the aromatics. The vanilla bean can be washed and reused to flavour your canister of sugar.
To serve, turn the set panna cotta’s out of their moulds onto dessert plates. Mound the cubed fruit next to the pannacotta’s and drizzle on a generous amount of lime syrup. Garnish with a few petals, if using, and top with a swirl of fairy floss.
Step into Greg’s kitchen
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