One day my curiosity peeked for yet another culinary adventure in the kitchen,–this time it was for Panna Cotta. So I immediately did some research and found tons of recipes! Overall, I never imagined how easy it would be to make my own…so off I went to the grocery store to buy all the necessary ingredients to make this rich and beautiful dessert.
Ingredients
- 4 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise & seeds scraped from pod (or 2 t of pure vanilla extract, which is what I had available)
- 2 packets plain powdered gelatin
- 6 tablespoons cold water
- 2 ripe summer peaches
- 1/4 c Grand Marnier
- a handful of blueberries and some mint for garnishing, if desired ( I had some fresh strawberries left, so I soaked it in sugar, set it aside in the fridge until ready for use)
Directions
- Heat the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a let stand at least 5 minutes.
- Stir the gelatin into the warm cream mixture until it’s completely dissolved.
- Pour into dessert molds or dishes, cover lightly and chill until very firm–about 2 hours or so. (You can make it first thing in the morning, or even the night before, if you wish. I made it in the afternoon just in time for a dessert after dinner.)
- About an hour or so before serving, dice the peach and toss with the Grand Marnier, letting it soak until you’re ready to serve. Top each Panna Cotta with a small amount of peaches, serving the rest on the side to be added as desired. Garnish with blueberries and mint (or strawberries, like I did) Mangiare felice! –gcc