Mini Parfait
In the about page, I have mentioned that this blog is about helping Maanas and Navya learn cooking. I might be wrong, because I remember that I learnt to make Parfait, the basic version of this dessert, from Maanas a long time ago. He had attended a cooking class once at Whole Foods where he learnt to make pancakes and parfait. He was five years old then. Ever since, he has been in love with this dessert!Parfait is made differently in different parts of the world. The way Maanas learnt to make it is by using yogurt layered with granola and strawberries. I make a coarse meal of walnuts and dates in a blender and use it in place of granola. I used to make it layered with yogurt, this mixture, and strawberries, until one day, Navya and I started making it and realized we had very little yogurt left. It was a very hot afternoon, and Maanas was about to come back from school. We knew how happy he would have been to have it and felt very sad that there wasn't enough yogurt. When there is a limitation though, our brain seems to work better! We stuffed the strawberries with the date-walnut mixture, gently poured a small spoon of the yogurt (regular homemade yogurt made thicker by filtering using a cheese cloth) over it, topped it with a blueberry, and called it a "mini parfait". They looked beautiful on a white serving tray. We couldn't wait!As he walked in, Maanas was totally thrilled to see the mini parfaits. And ever since, parfait gave way to these bite-size, mini parfaits in our house. A quick and easy to make, delicious, healthy, summer dessert! If you have any left overs, simply add one banana and some water or orange juice to make a wonderful smoothie!
mini parfaits
12 Strawberries, choose small berries for bite-size mini parfaits.
12 Blueberries
a handful of raw walnuts
2-3 Dates, soft and at room temperature
1/2 cup of thick yogurt ( regular homemade yogurt strained using a cheese cloth, or use greek yogurt); For a vegan parfait, choose any vegan yogurt, strain extra water off if required.
Wash the berries and pat them dry gently. Snip off the stem so that the strawberries will stay straight when kept on a flat surface. Slit each strawberry into four up to the end without breaking them, keeping the hull intact.Remove the pits from the dates and chop them into small pieces. Make a coarse meal of walnuts and chopped dates using a blender or food processor.
Just before serving, stuff all the strawberries with this meal. Press gently on the sides, especially at the bottom, to get the shape of the strawberry back. Place a small spoon of yogurt on top of each strawberry and top each with a blueberry. (If you make it long before serving, the yogurt could seep in and make the filling more like a paste)
Happy and healthy summer everyone!
