Soya panna cotta with berry compote

A panna cotta made with soya milk!

It is not as abstemious as it sounds. It is instead a triumph of textures – silky soft whiteness, drizzled over with a red wine berry compote, scattered with caramelized nuts and fragranced with rosewater.

"Picture provided by SPH"

It is a dessert that will easily slip down the throat. And unlike low-fat desserts, this one has a rich mouth feel, thanks to the soya milk and the reduced wine sauce that is poured over.

Indeed jellies of any kind, whether savoury or sweet, are great for guiltless eating, I like ham in aspic, for example, while wine jellies are great especially in hot weather like ours and then there is panna cotta, which is Italian for cooked cream - two whole cups of it!

Here I have substituted soya milk for the cream for those who are lactose-intolerant or want to cut down the fat, and yet want a sweet pudding to end the meal.

To mask the bean flavour, I added rosewater to the infusion, though dried lavender flowers (from the gourmet grocers), white Chinese tea leaves or even unsprayed fresh rose petals (easily obtainable from Serangoon Road) would also do.

You could make the jellied puddings in advance and store it in the fridge till needed. When using soya milk, just be careful not to heat it too strongly as it will curdle on high heat.

Ingredients:

Soya Panna Cotta with mixed berry compote (Makes 6-8 cups)

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 10g packets gelatine powder
• 4 cups unsweetened soya milk
• Half cup of white sugar
• Peel from one lemon

• 1 Tbsp. rose water

Compote:

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 2 cups red wine
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 vanilla pod

Garnishes:

• Mint or basil leaves
• Chinese caramelised nuts – available from Chinese provision shops

Method:

1. Add gelatine powder to the water and pour into a pot. Add sugar, soya milk and lemon zest.
2. Heat gently stirring all the time till sugar melts and gelatine dissolves. Strain mixture to remove any lumps into ramekins or glass bowls.
3. Place in fridge at least three hours or overnight to set.
4. In the meantime, make the compote. Place sugar and red wine in a pot and heat over low fire till sugar melts and syrup thickens. Add frozen fruit and just bring back to the boil. Cool. 
5. To serve, place a spoonful of compote with syrup over jelly and scatter with caramelized nuts. Garnish with mint or basil leaves.