A Slightly Different Panna Cotta
15 October 2007
Making panna cotta is a bit of work and above all takes its time as the cooked cream needs to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours to get solid. But if you plan ahead I find this dessert quite unproblematic to prepare as there is not too much that can go wrong. The preparation does not involve any delicate elements such as foamy yolks, whipped egg whites or other things that risk losing shape; it is just low-maintenance gelatine taking care of the right consistence, which only requires to be carefully dissolved. Very conveniently the panna cotta can be prepared even days in advance, so if you are planning to cook a more extensive meal you can just get the dessert course out of your way beforehand.
As usual, I added my personal touch to the panna cotta, this time in the form of grated hazelnuts (being quite fanatic about nuts, this was an obvious choice...), complemented by some refreshing lemon flavour. Another special twist about this recipe is cooking just one part and whipping the other part of the cream before mingling them together. This was not my own idea but I saw it in a Jamie Oliver cookbook (Pannacotta with Roasted Rhubarb, Happy Days with the Naked Chef p. 290). I immediately liked the concept of giving the panna cotta a somewhat less solid and more fluffy texture (i.e. making it seem lighter, although of course the calories are still the same, but let's just forget about this...).
Lemon-Hazelnut Panna Cotta with Strawberries
| serves 4 |
| 500ml whipping cream |
| 1 vanilla bean |
| zest of 3 lemons |
| 50g icing sugar |
| 80g ground hazelnuts |
| 3 leaves of gelatine |
| 1 bottle cap of cointreau |
| for the sauce |
| 400g strawberries |
| 2 packages of vanilla sugar |
| 2 cinnamon sticks |
| 100ml of port wine |
| a dash of special reserve balsamic vinegar |
Slowly heat two thirds of the cream (without previous whipping) with the grated lemon zest. Open the vanilla bean along the long side and scratch out the pulp with a knife into the cream; also drop in the emptied pod so it can leave some further aroma. Wait until the cream starts boiling, then turn it off and let it cool down again to room temperature. While heating the cream watch it constantly so you can quickly take it off the heat if it starts boiling too much to keep it from spilling over or burning. Before further processing the cream remove the vanilla pod and, if necessary, the skin that may have appeared on top.
Meanwhile whip the remaining cream, then carefully stir in the icing sugar (it is best to disperse it through a sieve so it does not build any lumps), the hazelnuts and a few drops of cointreau.
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft, drain them well and dissolve them in a little bit of boiling hot water or milk. As soon as completely dissolved pour into the unwhipped cream mixture; stir well to spread the gelatine evenly and to avoid the appearance of lumps. Subsequently fold in the whipped cream and cautiously stir the two mixtures until homogeneous. Immediately fill into little pudding molds and store them in the fridge for at least 2 hours so the panna cotta gets solid.
For the sauce, slowly cook the strawberries with the vanilla sugar, the cinnamon sticks and the wine until completely soft. Press them through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the stones. If you want add a few drops of special reserve balsamic vinegar.
To turn the panna cotta out of the moulds first cut along the edge with a knife, then dip the base of moulds into a bowl of hot water for a few seconds to loosen it further. The panna cotta should now easily slip out when you turn the moulds onto your dessert plates. Arrange the strawberry sauce around. If you prefer a less risky form of presentation use glasses instead of moulds and serve the panna cotta in the glasses with the strawberry sauce just poured on top.