Friday, July 31, 2015

Panna Cotta Recipes

(From Smitten Kitchen)

Yogurt Panna Cotta with Honey and Walnuts
As far as panna cottas go, this is on the soft side but will still slice or hold a form. For a firmer panna cotta, reduce the milk or cream by 1/2 cup. I used this recipe as my starting point but altered the proportions so it used one container, not one plus a fraction of another, always irksome, of yogurt. I significantly reduced the sugar; I recommend 1/2 cup for a standalone but not achingly sweet yogurt panna cotta that could be served with fresh berries or just a drizzle of honey. If you’d like to fully drape or coat the panna cotta with honey, I recommend dropping the sugar to 1/4 cup to compensate. I also replaced most of the suggested cream with milk, using 1 1/2 cups milk with 1/2 cup cream; you can use all cream, all milk, or anywhere in-between but I found that at least a small amount of cream added a richness that stretched far. As for the yogurt, I used, and highly recommend a full-fat Greek yogurt. The dish will work with others (lower fat and non-Greek yogurts) but it is astronomically more delicious with the real deal. If you only have regular yogurt but want to approximate the richness of Greek yogurt at home, you can set yours to strain in a fine-mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter or layers of cheesecloth over a bowl in the fridge for a few hours or up to a day until the yogurt on top thickens.

[Updated 4/29/13 to move the lemon juice addition to the end, as some people were experiencing curdling when it was heated. So sorry for any trouble.]

Yield: 1 9-inch round panna cotta or 7 to 8 1/2-cup servings*

Panna cotta
Neutral oil such as canola or safflower
4 tablespoons (60 ml) water
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 packet or 1/4 ounce or 7 grams) unflavored gelatin
2 cups (460 grams) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 cups (475 ml) milk, heavy cream or a combination thereof (see note up top), divided
1/4 to 1/2 cup (50 to 100 grams) granulated sugar (see note up top)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)

To serve
1/3 to 1/2 cup (110 to 170 grams) honey
1/2 to 3/4 cup (55 to 85 grams) walnuts, toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped

If you plan to unmold the panna cotta later, lightly coat the inside of a 9-inch round cake pan or smaller dessert cups with the oil. (No need to if you will scoop it from its cups.)

Place water in a small bowl. Stir in gelatin and set aside until the gelatin softens, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk all of yogurt and 1 cup of milk, cream or a mixture thereof. In a small saucepan, bring remaining milk or cream and sugar to a simmer. Stir in water-gelatin mixture (it will dissolve immediately) and remove from heat. Whisk this mixture into the yogurt mixture, then stir in lemon juice at the end. Pour mixture into cake pan or smaller cups and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours for small cups and up to 8 for a large pan. It’s best to do this the night before you need it, to be safe.

To unmold the cake pan, fill a larger baking dish with 1-inch boiling water. Dip panna cotta cake pan in it for 10 seconds, then flip it out onto a flat round platter. (A curved one will cause the panna cotta to appear sunken in the middle.)

To unmold smaller dishes, bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer and dip the bottom of a small panna cotta cup in one for five seconds, then invert it onto a plate. Repeat with remaining cups.

Right before you serve the panna cotta, sprinkle it with walnuts and drizzle it with honey. This needs to be done right before you serve it because the honey will (unfortunately) become liquidy and roll off it it sits on the panna cottas for too long.


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David Leibowitz's Panna Cotta
  • 4 cups (1l) heavy cream (or half-and-half)
  • 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
  • 6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water

1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

(If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the bean into the cream and add the bean pod. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bean then rewarm the mixture before continuing.)

2. Lightly oil eight custard cups with a neutral-tasting oil.

3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

5. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours but I let them stand at least four hours. (Judy told me American refrigerators are colder than European ones. )

If you’re pressed for time, pour the Panna Cotta mixture into wine goblets so you can serve them in the glasses, without unmolding.

6. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate, and garnish as desired.

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