PANNA COTTA WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE

So simple and yet so elegant, vanilla panna cotta is a lovely finish to any meal. Made with just a handful of ingredients—fresh cream, sugar, gelatin, and a little milk, the puddings are the perfect showcase for single origin vanillas, allowing you to taste the subtle nuances in regional flavor differences depending on where vanilla was grown. Nielsen Massey, for example, now markets single origin vanillas from Madagascar, Indonesia, Tahiti, Uganda, Mexico, and even Papua New Guinea.

For ease of service, panna cottas can be eaten right out of the glass ramekins you chill them in. Or, if made in a silicon mold to give the puddings pretty shapes, they pop right out for impressive display.

Originating in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, panna cotta first appeared on a restaurant menu in 1966 at Chef Ettore Songia’s restaurant Cuneo. Chefs have developed dozens of variations in the years since. But to make at home, we like the classic vanilla recipe served with strawberry sauce and a scattering of berries and mint leaves.

MAKES SIX, 6-OUNCE SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE VANILLA PANNA COTTA:
• 1/4 cup tepid water
• 3 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 cup whole milk • 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste OR ½ vanilla bean (We used Nielsen Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Pinch of salt

FOR THE STRAWBERRY SAUCE:
• 1 lb fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and chopped small
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

OPTIONAL GARNISH:
Handful of fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, red currants) and tiny mint leaves. 

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE PANNA COTTA: Fill a small dish with ¼ cup warm water. Sprinkle 3 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin over the water and stir. Allow the gelatin to bloom for 5 minutes. In a saucepan over medium low heat, add the 1 cup of whole milk, ½ cup of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla paste. Or, instead of the vanilla paste, split ½ of a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the milk and then add the scraped bean half into the milk as well. Add the bloomed gelatin to the milk and stir until gelatin and sugar are completely melted and incorporated into the milk. Add the 2 cups of cream and pinch of salt; stir well. Remove from heat. Pour mixture through a sieve into a large (4 to 6 cup) glass measuring cup that has a pouring spout. Divide liquid into six small glasses or ramekins OR pour liquid into a silicon mold with six shape indentations. Cover with plastic wrap. Place panna cottas in refrigerator to fully set for four hours.

MAKE STRAWBERRY SAUCE: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add lemon juice, chopped strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium low and continue stirring occasionally for 15 minutes until strawberries have released juice and sauce is glossy and thickened. Cool.

TO SERVE: If serving straight from ramekins or glasses, top each panna cotta with strawberry sauce and add optional garnish. To unmold puddings from silicon mold: Carefully pull away from edge of mold and wiggle to release each pudding on to a serving plate. Top with sauce and optional garnish.