I have never had a Panna Cotta before. I admit that a part of it never really appealed to me- a milky flavored gelatin type of dish? How could that really be good? That was my train of thinking. So when Abigail chose Panna Cotta as her Italian dessert to make for her cooking class for school, I was prepared to really dislike it.
I have never been so wrong about food before.
First of all, Panna Cotta was one of the easiest things to make. Abigail started out by measuring her milk into a cooking pot, which she then sprinkled with gelatin. That sat for five minutes, and while that sat she measured up the cream and the remaining ingredients. The milk/gelatin mixture was cooked slowly, while stirring, to get the gelatin dissolved, and then everything else was dumped in. She cooked and stirred for another minute or so, just until we’d felt that the sugar had completely dissolved. Then it was poured into individual serving containers, and put in the fridge to chill. It was literally less than 15 minutes of active cook time. Our only change to the recipe was that we added vanilla at the very end.
Our original recipe is from Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis, and calls for fresh berries to top it with. The berries looked terrible at the grocery store yesterday, so instead we used some frozen berries and made a quick compote to put on top of the Panna Cotta. We dropped the frozen mixed berries into a pot with 1/2 a cup of sugar and a drizzle of water. Once we had a bit of liquid in the pot, we also added a cornstarch slurry to thicken it just a touch. Here is a picture of a Panna Cotta without the berries next to one with the berries added. It is a pretty unassuming dish.
But holy wow, this dessert was nothing short of spectacular. It was not at all what I was expecting- I really was expecting something more firm like a gelatin. This was not- not at all. It was luxurious and silky, creamy and light, yet rich at the same exact time. I’ve been trying to think what it is like, texture-wise, and the closest thing I can think of is an ultra-smooth cheesecake made from cream cheese. The berries were the perfect accompaniment to the Panna Cotta, and we were also very glad that we added the vanilla. It reminded us all of a very good vanilla ice cream- without the icy cold part.
We are now HUGE fans of Panna Cotta, and will most definitely be making this again. I just can’t get over how easy it was, and I also am sitting here thinking about how delicious it was, and how I wish I could sit down with a massive bowl of it. So, so good.
Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries
adapted slightly from Everyday Italian
1 cup whole milk 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder 3 cups whipping cream 1/3 cup honey 1 tablespoon sugar pinch of salt 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional) 2 cups assorted fresh berriesPlace the milk in a heavy, small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. After the five minutes, stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves, but the milk does not boil- not quite five minutes.
Add the cream, honey, sugar, and salt and stir until the sugar is dissolved- this took maybe 2 minutes at the most.
Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Pour the mixture into six dessert glasses, dividing it evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, up to 2 days.
Spoon the berries on top of the panna cotta just before serving.
Makes 6 servings.