From The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (Scribner, 1999). © 1999 Lynne Rossetto Kasper. All rights reserved.
This Panna Cotta is like eating vanilla ice cream. Although panna cotta translates as "cooked cream," in fact, you heat the heavy cream only long enough to dissolve the sugar and a little gelatin. To bring the dessert to the consistency it achieves with the super-thick cream of the Piedmont region's dairy country where it was born, I stir in sour cream before pouring it into small molds for chilling.
Chefs often dress up Panna Cotta with complicated sauces. I like it on its own, or the way it's eaten in homes: with fresh fruit - cherries when they come into season, then strawberries, raspberries and finally peaches and pears. The boiled-down juice of fresh-pressed wine grapes (Vin Cotto or saba), an old country substitute for sugar, sometimes sauces Panna Cotta. Find imported saba from Modena in some fancy food stores. Balsamic vinegar isn't a Piemontese tradition, but the thick liqueur-like artisan-made balsamic (Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena or Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio-Emilia) is fabulous over Panna Cotta.
Cook to Cook: Use organic cream if possible and be sure the sour cream contains only cream and culture, no other additives. This recipe unmolds with a soft, creamy finish. For a firmer panna cotta, increase the gelatin to 13/4 teaspoons.
Ingredients
Serves 8; doubles easily
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) sugar, or more to taste
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (8-ounce container) sour cream
Instructions
- Winter Apricot Spoon Sweet (recipe follows)
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes. In a 3-quart saucepan, warm the cream with the sugar, salt, and vanilla over medium-high heat. Do not let it boil. Stir in the gelatin until thoroughly dissolved. Take the cream off the heat and cool about 5 minutes.
Put the sour cream in a medium bowl. Gently whisk in the warm cream a little at a time until smooth. Taste for sweetness. It may need another teaspoon of sugar. Rinse 8 2/3-cup ramekins, custard cups, or coffee cups with cold water. Fill each one three-quarters full with the cream. Chill 4 to 24 hours.
To serve, either unmold by packing the molds in hot towels and then turning each out onto a dessert plate, or serve in their containers. Serve topped with a spoonful or two of the Winter Apricot Spoon Sweet.
Winter Apricot Spoon Sweet
From The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (Scribner, 1999). © 1999 Lynne Rossetto Kasper. All rights reserved.
Makes 2 cups
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) dried apricots
- 6 tablespoons dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Working Ahead: The Spoon Sweet holds in the refrigerator 2 weeks and freezes 3 months.
Making the Spoon Sweet: In a saucepan, combine the apricots, wine, sugar, zest, and enough water to cover the fruit. Let it stand 20 minutes to 1 hour. Then bring the liquid to a gentle bubble. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan securely, and cook 30 minutes, or until the fruit is very soft. Taste for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired. Set it aside to cool.
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