In the kitchen :: Honey Yogurt Panna Cotta

I would still love to make one of these...



But in the meantime, this was a decent first attempt at panna cotta.

Too bad Calder's reached his max with dairy for a little while.  It may be some time before I get to make this again, though we all seemed to really enjoy them.



The recipe was uncomplicated and the results were smooth, very creamy, and pretty cute in all those little cups.

A yogurt-only version would be nice to try... and was what I was originally searching for.  The version I made here uses heavy cream and yogurt, of which I used whole milk Greek yogurt, so the results were thick and super rich.  I like the idea of being able to un-mold the panna cottas and have it be a little more jelly-like which I think could be achieved with less cream.  The ingredients for the yogurt-only version linked at the top are just: yogurt, rice syrup, and agar-agar, but I don't know the ratios.  More research and testing is needed!

This would be wonderful served with some saucy fruit.  I'd go for the grilled Italian prunes Jeff's been making lately, but so many fruits would be wonderful here.

(To make the grilled prunes: Simply rub each prune/plum with oiled hands, (we use olive oil,) and grill - on Medium to High, I'm guessing - for about 3 minutes, turning once, until they soften and the skin begins to split.)

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Honey Yogurt Panna Cotta - adapted from Everyday Food, June 2006

2 cups heavy cream

• 1 vanilla bean (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup honey  (These weren't over sweet, but I'd experiment with even less next time.)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• Place cream in a medium saucepan. With a paring knife, split vanilla bean lengthwise; scrape out seeds, and add to cream along with empty pod (if using vanilla extract, add to yogurt mixture in step 4).
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• Bring cream to a boil. Cover pan, remove from heat, and set aside to steep, at least 10 minutes.

• Meanwhile, place 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl, and sprinkle gelatin over water; set aside to soften, at least 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk yogurt, honey, and salt until combined; set aside.

• Return cream to a boil. Remove from heat, and immediately stir in softened gelatin until dissolved. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into yogurt-honey mixture; mix until combined.
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• Divide mixture among eight 4- to 6-ounce ramekins. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
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• Serve alone or topped with fruit in season (compotes, sauces, poached fruit all sound better than fresh to me.)