How to Make the Perfect Panna Cotta

 

 

Creamy, milky desserts are my weakness.

I choose, crispy-topped crème brulee, a wicked piece of custard tart, or a good, old-fashioned milk pudding, over “Death by chocolate” every time.

 A wobbly panna cotta though, beats them all.

 What is panna cotta, this delicious delight, which in recent years, seems to have taken the world by storm?

 Panna cotta, in Italian “Cooked cream”, has its roots in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, and, consists of cream, or a mixture of cream and milk, sugar and gelatin.

 A pure and simple dessert, but wait, this sounds familiar!

 Isn’t this the ‘shape’ or blancmange, brought to the afternoon tea-table, by my grandmother, many moons ago?

Yes, it is panna cotta, blancmange with an Italian accent!

 Moving further East, Greece and Cypress have their own panna cotta, called mahalepi, flavoured with rose or orange-water, drenched in rose-water syrup.

 Turkey, Lebanon and other Arab countries call it muhallebi, and top it with chopped pistachio nuts.

 

 

Panna cotta is such a simple dessert, how can you go wrong, when making it?

With no trouble at all, apparently.

 Unless I have sampled it there before, I never order panna cotta in a restaurant.

 I have consumed some terrible “Fails”, even in Italy, home to panna cotta.

 I have been shocked, by “Rubbery lumps”, presented to me on a plate!

 So, when Masterchef, Theodoros Aletris, offered me panna cotta, I thought twice before answering;

“Oh, yes please”

Wow! This had to be the best panna cotta I had ever tasted, the flavour, the texture, (That’s what makes or breaks a panna cotta) the strawberry sauce adorning it, everything was perfect!

I shouldn’t have doubted Theo, as he is an excellent chef, who, by the way, began his career in confectionery.

 

 

 Anything Theo has cooked for me, has been “Heaven on a plate”

 I just had to pick Theo’s brains!

 Well, as great chefs tend to be, he was a bit cagey, guards his recipes with his life!

 He must like me, he caved in!

 So, clutching Theo’s secrets close to my heart, I hot-footed it home, to find out if I could create the perfect panna cotta.

 Yes, I could!

 Remembering Theo’s tips and secrets “Take it easy with the gelatin” and don’t be “Heavy-handed” with the sugar, I did it!

 I made the perfect panna cotta, well, alright then; maybe it was a notch below Theo’s!

 It was creamy, not rubbery, it wobbled, just as it was meant to wobble, and it was not too sweet, it was just right!

 The secret is in the amount of gelatin used, too much, and it loses its creaminess, too little and it’s a sloppy mess.

 In my opinion, if you can slice panna cotta, or, when turned out of a mold, it doesn’t “Spread” then, it’s a failure.

 

 

Here is the basic recipe I use, Theo tweaks it a bit, here and there, adds flavoured sugars, he experiments with diverse tastes, adds a soupcon of that “Je ne sais quoi”,

I have experimented by adding a couple of dessert spoons of any liqueur, brandy or grappa, all were delicious!

 

Ingredients

I use half cream and half milk.

 

 

1 litre double cream, or, 500 ml cream and 500 ml milk

100 gr sugar

10 gr gelatin

(Sheets or powdered, gelatin sheets give a better result though)

If using gelatin leaves, soak in cold water for about 5 minutes.

If using powdered gelatin, add 2 or 3 tsp cold water, mix, leave 5 minutes

1 Vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)

(Scrape out the seeds, and add them, together with the pod, to the milk, before boiling and don’t forget to remove the pod afterwards!)

A shot of authentic, Italian grappa, or, Greek tsipouro is just as good! (optional)

 

Method

 

 Put the cream in a pan, add the sugar (and grappa if using)

Bring to just before boiling, stirring continuously.

Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from the gelatin, if using leaves, and add to pan, stir until dissolved.

Pour into molds, refrigerate for at least four hours, or, best I think, leave overnight.

To remove the panna cotta from the mold, run a sharp knife around the rim, immerse in very hot water for a few seconds, and turn out.

 

 

Some recipes suggest you lightly oil the molds, don’t!

Vegetable oil can affect the flavour of the panna cotta.

 

Toppings for panna cotta

 

The list of toppings, which enhance the flavor of panna cotta, is endless.

 I have my favourites, any fruit coulis or purees, plus, what you see below.

I try my best to support the many young Greeks, bringing back tried and trusted, healthy Greek products, which along the road to “Progress”, have been forgotten.

I admire their integrity, no cutting of corners, no use of chemicals and preservatives, using only good quality, fresh, local produce.

 

 

Lemon Cheese made by me!

Petimezi is sweet syrup, made from concentrated grape, or, pomegranate juice, photo below is with pomegranate petimezi.

 

 

Below is with delicious grape petimezi grape petimezi

 

 

Below, mouth watering, black cherry spoon sweet, made by the company, To Filema Tis Lelas, run by Sophia and Georgos.

 

 

Maybe panna cotta, (Or, rather the gourmet chefs who make it), is getting “A bit above itself”

 It has such a simple, pure taste, it should be left alone, kept simple, not drowned in strong-flavoured sauces and syrups, such as  three-chocolate sauce with chilies, or, salted caramel with rum, which absolutely blot out the delicate flavor of panna cotta.

MGG (My Greek God) has got it right.

This is how he likes his panna cotta; left alone, with no fancy frills.

 

 

As they say “If it’s not broken, why fix it”, after all, less is more!