This Christmas, Natasha Sideris, CEO and founder of Tashas Group, is inviting you celebrate a classic, comfortable holiday with a festive feast straight from the pages of her first sell-out cookbook, Café Classics.
‘Whenever we eat with our families, friends of colleagues, it is always a delicious feast where food is shared. There is always a ton of laughter, and everyone is involved in making something,’ says Natasha.
For dessert, one of Natasha’s favourites… panna cotta topped with mixed berries.
This easy recipe, along with 97 others are available in Café Classics. Originally published in 2015 with a revised version published in 2018, tashas Café Classics is a collection of some of Natasha’s favourite recipes and the most popular dishes from the café menus.
‘This cookbook is a celebration of uncomplicated but delicious food, inspired by wonderful ingredients and the joy of sharing with friends and family,’ says Natasha.
‘Not only is this is my favourite dessert, it is also the only one I really enjoy. A good panna cotta shouldn’t be too sweet. Nor should it be too firm – it should have a bit of wobble. The name comes from the Italian term for ‘cooked cream’ but it can also be made with Greek yoghurt, which of course, I prefer.’
Recipe
Serves 4
3 gelatine leaves
50 ml cold water
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
250 ml milk
250 ml double-thick cream
60 g castor sugar
240 g mixed berries
Method
Soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water until soft. Open the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds.
Warm the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla seeds and the pod in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then take off the heat. Remove the vanilla pod and discard. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and add them to the milk. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Divide the mixture between 4 small dishes or pretty glasses and leave to cool before placing them in the fridge. Leave them in the fridge for at least an hour or until the panna cotta has set.
Top with mixed berries.
For more information, visit: https://www.tashasgroup.com/cookbooks
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