Thyme Panna Cotta with Spiced Plums
A friend of mine cooked an alternative Christmas feast this year with middle Eastern flavours and Ras Al Hanout flying everywhere. For mains, I’m a traditionalist but it got me thinking about alternative desserts. I'm a die hard Christmas pudding fan but my boyfriend - not so much, so I was on a mission to find something to beat the sad frozen cheesecake I bought from Morrisons.
Panna cotta is surprisingly easy to make, you just need patience. The thyme in this makes it feel like a grown up dessert and still Christmassy but works for any time of the year. I followed the 'How to' recipe on Great Italian Chefs. This recipe is directly copied from there with a little more gelatine (I didn’t trust myself) and the addition of steeped thyme and plums.
Ingredients:
300ml of cream
200ml of milk
60g of sugar
1 vanilla pod
6 sprigs of thyme (plus extra to garnish)
2 1/2 gelatine leaves, softened in cold water
6 plums (preferably under ripe)
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Water
Method:
Slice the vanilla pod vertically. Scrape out the seeds using the back of a knife and add both pod and seeds to a saucepan with the milk, thyme, cream and sugar.
Warm gently over a low heat, don’t let the milk boil. Meanwhile soften the gelatine in cold water.
Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Remove the gelatine from the water and stir into the milk mixture until dissolved.
Pass through a fine sieve into a jug and leave to cool to room temperature, stirring occassionally.
Once cool, stir one last time to evenly distribute the vanilla seeds then divide between moulds. Transfer to the fridge to set for at least 3 hours.
Towards the end of the panna cottas cooling time, prepare the plums. Cut each into six wedges and set aside. Add the honey to a pan with 50ml of water and cinnamon. Warm the liquid but don’t boil.
Add the plums to the pan to glaze with the mix. Stir gentle for 5 minutes allowing the syrup to reduce slightly. You want the plums to soften slightly but retain their shape.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. If the syrup isn’t cool it’ll melt your panna cottas.
Check the panna cottas are set by shaking slightly. They should wobble but retain their shape. Run the moulds under warm water for a few seconds. Put a plate on top, flip over and remove the mould.
Arrange the cooled plums on top, pour over a little syrup and add a fresh thyme sprig to garnish.