Yoghurt "jelly" pudding with strawberries and votka sauce

Fragrant, vibrant in colour, refreshing and delicious in taste this dessert will become one of your favourites! Light and airy thanks to the yoghurt-based cream, it is ideal to enjoy after any meal. All the times I've made this dessert were a success and what a delight the strawberry season is back again!! Feel free to substitute the strawberries with fruits of your preference

Recipe of Argyro Barbarigou,
a prominent Head Cook in Greece
Check out her site Argiro for more delicious recipes

Ingredients (for 8 people)

For the yoghurt "jelly":
500gr. Greek thick yoghurt ("strained" - see tip in the end of the recipe)
300gr. of crème fraîche
1 vanilla pod
10gr. of gelatin sheets (2 sheets of 5gr. or 5 sheets of 2gr.)
5 tbsp of icing sugar

For the sauce:
250gr. of ripe but firm strawberries
1 tea-cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tea-cup of vodka
12 strawberries, kept whole for decoration

Method:
Put the gelatin sheets in a bowl full of cold water and soak for 15 minutes.

Using a sharp and pointy knife slice the top outer layer of the vanilla pod in half lengthwise, from top to bottom, being careful to not slice through to the bottom layer.

Put in a bowl the crème fraîche and the vanilla pod and leave aside for 15 minutes to "marinate".

Wash the strawberries well and discard the stems. Put the 250gr. of strawberries in a blender and thoroughly mash along with the granulated sugar, while at the same time, slowly adding in the blender the vodka. Put the mixture in the fridge to chill.

Squeeze the gelatin sheets well with your hands and put in a small saucepan with 1 tbsp of water. Stir with a wooden spoon over very low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Take off the heat and leave aside to cool.

Take the vanilla pod off the cream, scrape off the seeds with a small spoon and add them into the cream. Using a hand mixer beat the cream along with the icing sugar for a few minutes, until soft peaks are formed and the mixture has a yoghurt-like texture. Add in the cream the yoghurt and the dissolved gelatin and gently stir with a whisk until the mixture is well blended.

Wet with some water a medium (not too deep) cake tin with a hole in the middle and empty the cream/yoghurt mixture. Put in the fridge and leave to chill for 4 hours or until is well set.

To serve, dip the tin in warm water for 1 minute and then turn onto a serving platter.

Fill the empty space with the whole strawberries, pour over with the sauce and serve immediately.

Tip:
"Strained" yoghurt is thicker than the normal store-bought yoghurt in pots. It is essential for specific recipes, sweet or savoury, and it means that it doesn't free so many liquids in the end. It is not easy to be found abroad in this form but we can do it at home very easily. Lay a very thin linen kitchen towel (or a double-layer of cheesecloth) in a colander and then place the colander into a large bowl. Empty your normal yoghurt in the towel and tie the four sides on top with a piece of string. Leave the bowl with the colander in the fridge all night and next day you'll see that all the excess liquid of the yoghurt will have drained into the bowl. This yoghurt will the closest to the original "strained" yoghurt you might have