Lemon buttermilk pannacotta
I don’t really know what it is with pannacotta. Ever since I photographed the first one about a year ago, it seems to have grown into some sort of addiction, with the notable exception that now I have to make them first. The first pannacotta was made by Claudia, a real Italian lady, with whom I sometimes do some cooking. Well, let’s say it differently; she does ALL the cooking and I shoot the food and afterwards we eat it all… together! How’s that for a great arrangement?
Anyway; talking about my pannacotta addiction I have bought a book at Bol.com which was called “Pannacotta” by Camilla V. Saulsbury. When it finally arrived in the mail I was very disappointed to find out that there were no (real) photographs in the book!! How can you make a cookbook and not have lovely colorful and glossy photos in there??? I just don’t get it. But then I am one of those people that buy a book based on the photos and not so much based on the recipes. Possibly something to do with the fact that I am a photographer..Lol… The photos in the book where all tiny and all stacked in two pages in the front of the book. Half of the photos in black&white and all either lacking in color or in composition or with horrible shadows or… well, you get the picture. I mean, I see lots and lots of foodphotography on Flickr everyday by people who are so called “amateurs” and those photos are incredible and stunning, so I cannot understand why you make a cookbook and then put such uninspiring pictures in there. With the exception of the nice photo on the cover, all are made by the author, so forgive me Camilla, but…. next time… please ask someone else…:) I do feel though that part of the problem here is the size…. The tiny photos just do not do justice to the dishes!! And the recipes are great, so still a good reason to try this book if you love Panna Cotta!
Having said that; it is a reason for me to try the recipes and then take photos… I am building my own personal cooking book with recipes that I like and photos that I took. Just for myself and just for fun, but it is nice to do and all those pannacotta’s are just waiting for me to take better photos. Now, the problem with any pannacotta is positioning the sauce and making sure it stays on the – wobbly- top.
Not the best look as you will probably agree. I did struggle here, because I felt the sauce was a bit too heavy. I had made two types of shapes of this pannacotta and the flatter one made it easier to put something on top but I do like the higher shape better, but then it was slowly sliding towards the end and we had eaten all the other ones already, so I had just the one left and two flatter ones. It’s not perfect at all, but it was very tasty!!
The buttermilk gave it a different kind of flavor then one with just cream and the lemon gave it a lovely sour twang…Definitely worth a try this recipe!!
Lemon buttermilk pannacotta with crushed raspberry sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1,5 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2 cups lowfat buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 recipe Crushed raspberry sauce see below
- Place lemon juice in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over lemon juice. Let stand 5 minutes to soften gelatin.
- Meanwhile, bring the cream, sugar, and lemon zest to simmer in heavy, medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring untill sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture and whisk untill dissolved. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until blended.
- Ladle or pour mixture into 8 3/4 cup custard cups, ramekins, or small molds. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and chill 4 hours or up to overnight.
- Cut around edge of each panna cotta to loosen. Set each cup in shallow bowl of hot water for 10 seconds. Immediately invert each onto a plate. Served with the crushed raspberry sauce. Makes 8 servings
- CRUSHED RASPBERRY SAUCE
- 2 cups of fresh or frozen, thawed raspberries, undrained
- 3 tablespoons of sugar
- Place raspberries and their juices in a medium bowl. Crush lightly with back of spoon. Stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
