This might sound an unusual combination, but I was browsing through my cookbooks a couple of days ago looking for a recipe to use up some excess roma tomatoes. I must admit I wasn’t looking to create a sweet dish but this dish caught my eye and it is quite frankly superb and perfect for a late summer evening dessert. This recipe comes from Leanne Kitchen’s Turkey – recipes and tales from the road (Murdoch Books) and will be a firm favourite in my summer collection of dishes. You do need to give yourself a good preparation time as it is best served after chilling overnight. I would recommend using a simmer mat if you have difficulty controlling the temperature of your stove top as this really is a delicate exercise and it will quickly spoil.
This really is delicious, so spoil yourself and give it a try.
Chilled Yoghurt Cream with Sweet Tomato Compote
2 tsp powdered gelatine
300ml pouring (whipping) cream
100g caster sugar
500g Greek-style yoghurt
Sweet Tomato Compote
330g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 fresh bay leaves
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 kg ripe roma tomatoes, halved
To make the sweet tomato compote, combine the sugar, cinnamon, bay leaves and lemon juice in a saucepan with 500ml water. Slowly bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the tomato, bring back to just a simmer, then reduce the hear to low and cook for about 50 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced and thickened – place an inverted saucer or small plate over the tomato halves to keep them submerged while cooking. Remove from the heat and cool, discarding the cinnamon.
To make the yogurt cream, sprinkle the gelatine into a small heat-proof cup and add 2½ tbsp cold water; stand for 5 minutes until softened. Place the cup in a small saucepan of gently simmering water and heat until the gelatine dissolves. Meanwhile, combine the cream and the sugar in a saucepan and heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until nearly simmering, then remove from the heat. Stir in the gelatine mixture and cool to room temperature. Add the yoghurt and whisk until smooth. Divide the mixture between 6 300ml glasses (Turkish glasses are perfect for this dish) and refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.
Serve the chilled yogurt cream with the sweet tomato compote spooned over the top. Serves 6.
