When I discovered the sumac lemonade on the wonderful blog Taste of Beirut I suddenly realised all the possibilities of sweet dishes with sumac, something that had never thought of before. I have always used it as a spice for savoury food and especially salads, but of course the citrus-y flavour works just as well in puddings!

And I am quite proud of my first attempt: sumac pannacotta with lemon jelly! If you wish you can remove the sumac before you pour it into the cups, but I think it looks quite nice with it in. (I like to see what I eat.)

Sumac pannacotta with lemon jelly, serves 4

Pannacotta:

200 ml single cream

300 ml double cream

4 1/2 tbsp caster sugar

zest from 1 small lemon or 3/4 of a large 

1 tbsp sumac

2 leaf gelatin 

Jelly:

50 ml water

50 ml lemon juice

50 ml icing sugar

zest from 1/2 lemon

1-2 drops yellow food colouring 

2 leaf gelatin

Soak the leaf gelatin in cold water. Combine cream, sugar, lemon zest and sumac in a saucepan. Bring to simmer and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin and add it to the mixture. Stir. Remove from heat and leave to cool for about 20 minutes. Divide between four glasses and leave to cool completely. Place in fridge to set, for at least three hours before adding the jelly.  

Soak the leaf gelatin in cold water. Mix water, sugar, lemon juice and zest in a saucepan. Bring to the boil so the sugar dissolves. Add the food colouring. Sqeeze the excess water from the gelatin and add to the mixture. Leave to cool for about 20 minutes. Then divide evenly between the pannacottas. Place in fridge and leave to set for at least two hours.