Panacotta

 When I first heard the name I thought it would be one of the toughest things I would be making. But the moment the recipe landed on my hands I smiled. Such a lovely looking dessert but so easy to make-cooking done just  in 15-20 minutes –A cakewalk for an even an amateur cook like me? That too an Italian Recipe…Lucky me!

I love collecting recipes of cuisines from different parts of the world-whether I make it or not…The point was to collect It. Most of the ingredients were not available back here in India or it was that I dint know about it.This was during a time when Strawberries were what Nancy drew ate for her dessert and broccoli an alien vegetable an ace chef tossed about in his saucepan on TV the other day.

Things have changed now .They are available at a nearby retail outlet -both strawberry and broccoli and many many more such earlier alien names slowly now a part of our everyday dictionary. Globalization changed everything. Even my earlier take on some collected unheard   ethnic foreign recipes-earlier I was just content collecting them, now I venture into my kitchen to make some…. 

I love Italian cuisine whether it is Pizza ,Pasta or Tiramisu. Pancotta is the latest addition. This Creamy vanilla  scented  dessert is a pleasure to eat after a heavy cheesy pizza or a bowl full of scrumptious pasta…The Wikipedia says``Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. It is generally from the Northern Italian region of Piedmont, although it is eaten all over Italy, where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce …''

I loved the dessert. Both the making part  and the eating part -The making part because this Italian dessert is damn easy to make…and the eating part as always because of my love for anything Italian.

Ingredients

Milk-1 cup

Heavy cream-1 cup

Granulated sugar-1/2 cup

Gelatin powder-3 tsp

Water-5 tbsp or enough to bloom gelatin

Vanilla extract-2 tsp

Method

Take water and add gelatin.Let it bloom for 5 minutes.

Bring to boil milk, cream, and sugar in a saucepan. Switch off flame.

Double boil and melt gelatin.

Add essence and gelatin to milk mixture.

Pour into moulds and refrigerate for 3 hours atleast. Serve with caramel sauce or a sweet fruit of your choice.