COCONUT PANNA COTTA

 

If you feel like having a decadent dessert, but you don’t want to eat something unhealthy, look no further. Here is my beautiful panna cotta recipe, that is healthy, vegan and low sugar.

I like to use coconut milk and coconut cream on my recipes, because it contains medium chain triglycerides (aka MCTs), a type of fat that our body convert easily in our intestine into energy. Recent search found that MCTs could help overweight people rebalance their weight (doi: 10.3390/nu8050281). In addition, coconut has a good amount of manganese, which is involved in bone health, and smaller amounts of other minerals and vitamins. Coconut has also specific plant compounds that act as antioxidants (gallic acid, caffeic acid and salicylic acid are the main ones) and a recent study describe its role in preventing oxidation of bad cholesterol (doi: 10.1016/S1995-7645(11)60078-3).

To this recipe I decide to add berries, to increase the antioxidant intake. Berries are extremely beneficial, as on top of vitamins and minerals, they contain a host of phytochemicals that work in synergy to enhance our health. The main phytochemicals are anthocyanins, ellagic acid, quercetin and procyanidins. Each type of Berry has a unique composition, therefore it’s better to alternate their consumption, choosing a different type as often as possible.

 

Serve: 4

Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: easy

 

INGREDIENTS

-1 can of full fat coconut milk

-1/4 cup maple syrup

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 ¼ teaspoon agar agar

-Topping: 1 cup frozen berries, ½ tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

 

 

METHOD

1-In a saucepan mix the milk and the agar, let it sit for 5 minutes without heating.

2-Add the vanilla and gently heat the mixture, never allowing it to boil. Wisk well to allow the agar to dissolve.

3-Once the agar is fully dissolved remove from heat, stir in the maple syrup and divide in 4 ramekins. Place them in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

4-In the meantime, place in a saucepan the frozen berries, the cinnamon and the maple syrup on low heat and allow it to defrost and release the juices. When the fruit is soft and juicy, remove from heat and let it cool. Put it in a sealed container in the fridge. Five minutes before serving take the panna cotta from the fridge and top it up with the berry compote.