Zelda Pande's Breakfast Muesli Yoghurt Parfait is perfect for rushed mornings, especially if you plan ahead and make the chilled hung curd a day in advance.
Photographs and video: Zelda Pande
Dingle is a sleepy fishing village off the coast of southwestern Ireland.
Life has changed little around there, for decades, except for the arrival of more and more tourists.
They come to see the dolphins (especially the town's beloved Fungie who disappeared during the pandemic), the seals, the whales, drive along the untamed coast on the Wild Atlantic Way and take in the charming vibe of the peninsula.
A retired police officer I met, named Martin, who had spent over five years posted in the area, said crimes were scant and not particularly of a serious nature.
The Irish are very friendly and welcoming people, and in the countryside, folks are even more warm and the hospitality is amazing.
At a bar I visited, that was a well-known location for live Irish music, I was roped in for a traditional dance night of swift Irish reels and waltzes to the accompaniment of the accordion, played by a famous local musician Seamus Begley.
In spite of two awfully left feet, 'no' wasn't a word I could use from my vocabulary, and I was soon doing the donkey hop and lord knows what else.
At the end of the evening someone dropped me back too.
Breakfasts, at the guesthouse where I stayed, were sumptuous.
A version of this parfait was served mornings before various gourmet versions of eggs and homemade soda bread, along with freshly made house special bread-and-butter pudding and a selection of juices, fruit, cold meat and cheese.
I attempted to copy the same parfait with a bit of success. It's refreshing and an ideal way to begin your day.
Heaton's Breakfast Yoghurt Muesli Parfait
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 1 cup yoghurt
- 3 tsp sugar or brown sugar
- ½ cup muesli
- 1 tbsp coconut flakes or grated desiccated coconut
- 2 tbsp stewed fruits or canned fruit like cherries or peaches or blueberries
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tall wine glass
Method
- Pour the yoghurt in a cheesecloth lined strainer or channi.
Hang the yoghurt curd for 5-6 hours and, after the water has drained, chill the hung curd in the fridge for a few hours.
Whip the chilled hung curd with the sugar till smooth.
Keep aside. - In a bowl, mix the muesli with the coconut and pour into the tall wine glass.
Top with a few pieces of stewed or canned fruit.
Then add the thickened, sweetened yoghurt.
Sprinkle the cinnamon on top and serve.
Editor's Note: To make homemade stewed fruit, choose a fruit you prefer, like apples, strawberries, peaches, plums, kiwis or mangoes.
Peel and chop enough fruit to have 2 cups of it.
In a saucepan, heat the fruit over low heat with 4-5 tbsp sugar and half cup water. Cover.
Cook till the fruit softens and darkens and becomes a cooked fruit in syrup.
Add a little more water or sugar if necessary.
Pour into a glass jam bottle and store in fridge for upto 15 days.
It can be had on muesli or on ice cream.
For a diabetic-friendly version of this yoghurt parfait use stevia powder instead of sugar, sugar-free muesli and do make the stewed fruit at home using apples or plums or a fruit that has less sugar and sweeten it with stevia powder.
For a vegan version, use vegan yoghurt.
WATCH: What a traditional dance night in Dingle looks like.
