A rich Italian dessert of sweetened cream topped with tart summer fruit flavours. It looks beautiful to serve and has a light, silky texture. This recipe tops the panna cotta with peaches, but you can use a range of stone fruit like nectarines, apricots and plums.
Serve with a glass of Prosecco and with each sip you could whisk your way to Italy, under the South African sun.
4 tsp (60 ml) water
2½ tsp unflavoured gelatin
2 cups (500ml) plain full cream yogurt
2 cups (500ml) full cream milk divided
¼ cup (60ml) sugar
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 peaches
5 sprigs of fresh thyme plus more for garnish
½ cup (125ml) balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp Nature’s Gold honey
To make the panna cotta place water in a small bowl and stir in the gelatin and set aside until the gelatin softens, about 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk all of yogurt and 1 cup of milk.
In a small saucepan, bring remaining milk and sugar to a low simmer.
Stir in the water-gelatin mixture (it will dissolve immediately) and remove from heat.
Whisk this mixture into the yogurt mixture, then stir in lemon juice.
Pour mixture into small glass cups and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.
In the meantime, to prepare the roasted peaches, preheat the oven to 200°C.
Cut each peach in half around the pit then pull apart from the pit. Cut each half into quarters, creating segments.
Place the peach segments and thyme sprigs in a baking dish lined with baking paper.
Mix the balsamic vinegar with honey and drizzle over the peaches and thyme and roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until caramelised and tender.
Once done remove and allow them to cool and then serve over the panna cotta along with a drizzle of the pan juices and fresh thyme leaves.
