Panna Cotta with Strawberry Sauce

Panna Cotta is a wonderful dessert that is based on double cream and vanilla. Earlier recipes used boiled fish bones instead of gelatin. We prefer gelatin!

Panna Cotta comes from the region of Piedmont, located in northern Italy. In Italy, they serve Panna Cotta with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis.

Remember that the Panna Cotta must be made at least 3-4 hours before it can be served!

Ingredients (for 4)

Panna Cotta:
4 gelatine leaves
2 Vanilla pods
600ml/1 pint 1½fl oz double cream
225ml/8fl oz caster sugar

Strawberry Sauce:
225g/8oz frozen strawberries
85g/3oz icing sugar
2tbsp lemon juice

Preparation method

Put the gelatine leaves soaked in cold water until softened and then drained. Or just follow the instructions printed on the package of the gelatine leaves.

Remove the seeds from the vanilla pods.

Pour the double cream, sugar and vanilla pods and seeds into a saucepan. Remember to stir!

Bring to the boil; remove from the heat and leave to infuse for few minutes. Remove the vanilla pods from the saucepan. Stir the gelatine leaves into the pan.

Then pour the mixture into the basins. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 1/2 hours, or until completely set.

You should wait until just before serving the Panna Cotta to make the strawberry sauce. Put the frozen strawberries, icing sugar and lemon juice in a blender, food processor or similar.

Run it to the mass is smooth. Make a small ‘ball’ of the strawberry sauce and put it on the top of the Panna Cotta and serve!

What is left of the strawberry sauce, should be put in a bowl so that guests can add more if they wish.

This may seem difficult to make, but it is not!

Tags:
caramel, caster sugar, chocolate sauce, cream, double cream, frozen strawberries, gelatine, gelatine leaves, icing sugar, Italy, lemon, lemon juice, Panna Cotta, Piedmonth, saucepan, Strawberry, Strawberry sauce, sugar, vanilla, vanilla pods, wild berries