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Red, white and blue (ok, violet) panna cotta


Now that it is (how did this happen?) already July, I’m attempting to avoid baking with the onset of summer temperatures. Not gonna complain about the heat, though ! Most homes where we come from don’t have air conditioning so baking in summer is considered totally off your rocker, stark raving mad, lala land, asylum bound, bonkers, cray cray, what's that?! You still don’t get it? Anyway, you shall see a series of (ok, two or three) oven-free recipes coming soon, because I for one, although quite mad hatter at times, crave chilled desserts.

Here’s an easy one to make, panna cottas, with a couple of ingredients from our summer garden (as opposed to the winter garden, which is, um, barren). I am talking about cherries, passion fruit flowers and campanules or bellflowers, of course, which are red and a bit of blue, because this was for the 4th of July.

Panna cotta cream :
20 cl of liquid whipping cream (3/4 cup)
200 ml milk (3/4 cup)
Half a vanilla bean
1/2 cup sugar
3-1/2 sheets of gelatin or 1-1/4 tablespoon of agar agar

Fruit topping
2 cups halved cherries (hulled) or halved strawberries, blueberries)
Juice from half a lemon
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar

Start with making the preserves:
Prepare your choice of fruit.  In a cup, dissolve  cornstarch in  2 tablespoons of water, then add lemon juice. In a saucepan, add fruits and cornstarch mixture. Add sugar. Let simmer in low heat for 5 minutes.
(I prefer the fruit firm so this is hardly cooked, but you can double or triple the time according to your preference.)

Maintenant que c'est le mois de juillet (comment est-ce arrivé?) je fais moins de cuisine au four avec les températures élévées qui arrivent. Mais je ne vais pas commencer à me plaindre de la chaleur! Puisque la plupart des maisons chez nous n’ont pas de climatisation, faire la cuisine au four pendant la canicule est considéré comme complètement disjoncté, cinglé, être fou à lier, quoi, qu'est-ce qu'il y a? Vous ne comprenez toujours pas? Quoi qu'il en soit, vous verrez bientôt une série de recettes (ok, un ou deux, peut-être trois) sans cuisiner au four, parce que moi, bien que je suis un peu fofolle parfois, quand il fait chaud, j'ai envie de desserts frais, pas vous? Alors voici une recette facile à préparer, les fameux panna cottas, avec quelques ingrédients de notre jardin d'été (par opposition au jardin d'hiver, qui est, euh, oublies). Je parle des cerises, des fleurs du fruit de la passion et des campanules, bien sûr, qui sont rouges et un peu bleus, parce que c'était pour le 4 juillet, jour d'indépdence américain, mon pays d'origine. Pour la crème au panna cotta: 20 cl de crème liquide 30% de matière grasse 200 ml de lait demi-écrémé Une demi-gousse de vanille 50 g de sucre 3-1/2 feuilles de gélatine ou 1-1/4 cuillère à soupe d'agar agar Garniture aux fruits 200 g de cerises coupées en deux (décortiquées) ou de fraises coupées en deux, ou des myrtilles, pas besoin de couper en deux!) Jus d'un demi citron 1 cuillère à café de la fécule de maïs 30 g de sucre Commencez par faire la confiture : Préparez votre choix de fruits. Dans une tasse, faire dissoudre la fécule de maïs avec 2 cuillères à soupe d'eau, puis ajouter le jus de citron. Dans une casserole, ajouter les fruits et la liquide de fécule de maïs. Ajouter le sucre. Laisser mijoter à feu doux pendant 5 minutes. (Je préfère le fruit ferme donc à peine cuit, mais vous pouvez doubler ou tripler le temps selon vos préférences.)


For the panna cotta :
In a bowl of cold water, place gelatin sheets and allow to soften (about 10 minutes). On medium heat, simmer whipping cream, milk and sugar in a saucepan. Take care not to boil. Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise and extract seeds by scraping down with a knife and add to warm milk mixture, stirring to mix well. Add softened gelatin sheets (or agar agar) and allow to dissolve completely, stirring well, then remove from heat. Allow to cool about 10 minutes.

Pour into clear glasses, or ramekins. Wait about 15 minutes before putting into refrigerator. Refrigerate about 4-5 hours or overnight.  Once set, top with fruit preserves, fresh fruit or edible flowers.

Pour la panna cotta: Dans un bol d'eau froide, déposer les feuilles de gélatine et laisser ramollir (environ 10 minutes). À feu moyen, laisser mijoter la crème à fouetter, le lait et le sucre dans une casserole. Faites attention à ne pas bouillir. Couper la gousse de vanille en deux sur la longueur et extraire les graines en raclant avec un couteau et ajouter au mélange de lait chaud, en remuant. Ajouter des feuilles de gélatine ramollies (ou l'agar) et laisser dissoudre complètement, en remuant bien, puis retirer du feu. Laisser refroidir environ 10 minutes. Verser dans des verrines ou des ramequins. Attendre environ 15 minutes avant de mettre au réfrigérateur. Réfrigérer environ 4 à 5 heures ou toute la nuit. Une fois pris, garnir de confitures de fruits, de fruits frais ou de fleurs comestibles.


A word about the flowers, passion fruit flowers (with white petals) have been used since antiquity for insomnia, asthma and anxiety, but we are fine on those fronts and I was only using them for their properties of color. If I need meds I’ll go to the pharmacy, thank you. A little suggestion though, to rinse well as there are often tiny ants and pollination (probably said narcotic properties). The small violet bellflowers, however, are edible with no known hallucinogenic properties, and taste a little like beans.

Enjoy !

Un petit mot sur les fleurs, les fleurs de fruit de la passion (avec des pétales blancs) sont utilisées depuis l'Antiquité pour l'insomnie, l'asthme et l'anxiété, mais moi, ça va sur ces fronts, et je ne les utilisais que pour leurs propriétés de couleur. Si j’ai besoin de médoc, j’irai à la pharmacie, merci beaucoup. Une petite suggestion cependant, bien rincer car il y a souvent de minuscules fourmis et de pollinisation (probablement partiularités narcotiques dont je parlais). Les petites campanules violettes, cependant, sont comestibles sans propriétés hallucinogènes connues, et ont un goût un peu comme les haricots. Bon appétit !





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