Turquoise Wedges: Panna Cotta Cravings.....

Panna Cotta

I have been craving for Panna Cotta for 3 months now. There is this lovely Italian place near my house, which serves yummy thin crust pizzas and 'Panna Cotta'. Also this is my dear friend Christina's favoritestt dessert :) So decided to give it a shot.

The other day I was out picking up vegetables at my neighborhood super market, I saw a bunch of fresh red cherries on the rack. So made a secret memory note. My partner hates to stack fresh produce unnecessarily. He is of the view that - only if this fresh produce will be used in the next 12 hours we can buy it or else it stays on the rack.

Panna Cotta - simply means cooked cream. I have a sweet tooth like once in a blue moon. I like my desserts simple and not too heavy. I love berries....I dream of being surrounded by baskets full of it some day when I wake up from my bed. But if your in Chennai, where the weather is hot and sunny year round its hard to get your hand on fresh berries or cherries :)

Lets cut to the chase...The Making of Panna Cotta

Total Time - 30 minutes
Prep Time - 15 minutes
Serves - 2

Ingredients
For Panna Cotta
Fresh Cream - 200 ml
Milk - 70 ml
Sugar - 50 ml
Vanilla essence - 3 to 4 drops
Powdered Gelatin - 1 tbsp

For Red Cherry - Cranberry Sauce
Fresh pitted red cherries - 10 to 12 cherries
Cranberry Juice - 180 ml
Sugar - 50gm
Fresh Rosemary Spring

Directions:

For Panna Cotta:

In a thick base cook pot combine cream (I usually use Amul cream even if other recipes mention double cream or full cream), milk, sugar and vanilla essence. On medium heat keep stirring and cooking the mixture until the sugar dissolves. We should never let this boil. All we need is to combine the mixture well and let the sugar dissolve. This should take 6 to 8 minutes.

Now the most important part - Gelatin. In a small bowl place 2 to 3 tbsp of cold water. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it sit there for 2 to 3 minutes until the gelatin becomes fluffy and gel like. Do not prepare this in advance. The gelatin my soak up too much water and loose its tendency to help the mixture set. You can prepare this just 5 minutes after putting the cream mixture on low medium heat.

The cream mixture should take 6 to 8 minutes to cook. Turn off and remove from the heat. Squeeze out the fluffy gelatin from water and add it to the mixture while it is still warm. Keep stirring until all the gelatin dissolves and is fully incorporated in to the cooked cream mixture. Keep this aside and let it cool. We can see the mixture slowly starting to firm or set. At this juncture we need to pour them into ramekins or steel mould. We can use any steel cup or 'Katori' from our kitchen.

Steel mould is recommended as it easy for us to slid the Panna Cotta off once it sets. Tuck this away into the freezer. I turn my refrigirator to just up to maximum temperature (max. cool) and let the Panna Cotta set. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours to set. If you are making it for dinner, we can prepare this overnight and store in the freezer.

For Cranberry - Cherry Sauce

In a small saucepan combine, cranberry juice, fresh pitted red cherries and sugar. Cook until the cherries are soft and the sauce turns deep red and shinny. If you like the sauce plain with out the cherries you can strain it and use the sauce. I usually like to have a nice bite of the fruit so I leave some behind to spoon around my Panna Cotta while I plate it up.

Panna Cotta with Red Cherry - Cranberry Sauce

Remove the Panna Cotta from the freezer. Let is rest outside for 2 to 3 minutes before serving. For the panna cotta to slide out of the mould easily, I suggest dunk your knife in warm water and run it around the mould just to loosen it up a bit. Now turn over the steel mould over the serving plate and give a gentle tap on all sides.

Now spoon the cooled sauce over the Panna Cotta and around it. Garnish with fresh cherries and a spring of rosemary :)