Strawberry Panna Cotta

Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. 'Panna Cotta' literally means 'cooked cream.' This is my sister's favorite dessert.  I did not realized how easy it is to make them when I looked at the recipe. I felt bad because I never make any for her. :-( 

At first I was thinking to make a plain Panna Cotta, but in the end, I decided to work with strawberries. I followed the recipe from Women's Day but a little different. I used agar-agar strands instead of the powder (it is much  faster to use the powder) and 2% milk instead of whole milk. The remaining puree, I did not throw away the seeds.

Ingredients

1 lb strawberries, hulled 

1⁄2 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar 

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract 

1 packet unflavored gelatin 

1⁄4 cup water 

11⁄2 cups whole milk 

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

Garnish (optional):

sliced strawberries

mint leaves

Lightly grease eight 4-oz ramekins or cups with nonstick cooking spray.

Purée strawberries and sugar in a blender until very smooth. Press through a sieve into a bowl; discard seeds. Stir in vanilla. Remove 1 cup for the panna cotta; reserve remaining purée.

Sprinkle gelatin over 1⁄4 cup water in a small custard cup; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Place cup in a small skillet of simmering water; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Simmer milk in saucepan. Remove from heat; stir in dissolved gelatin. Transfer to a 1-qt glass measure; stir in reserved 1 cup strawberry purée and the cream until well blended. Pour into ramekins. Chill, covered, until firm, about 4 hours or up to 2 days.

To unmold, run a small knife around each; invert onto plates, gently shaking to remove. Spoon some of the reserved strawberry sauce onto panna cotta.

Don't worry my baby sis, I ate some just for you! *wink* xxx