Panna cotta means “cooked cream” in Italian and is a cool, refreshing dessert, that is lightened by the lemony characteristic of buttermilk. Adding buttermilk to the strawberry coulis creates a very feminine and rich pink sauce, full of bright flavour. The crispy crêpe frazzles add texture visually and on the palate.
ingredients
Panna Cotta
Strawberry Sauce
Crêpe Frazzles
directions
Lightly oil 6 5-oz ramekins.
Soften gelatin in 2 Tbsp cold water.
Place buttermilk and creams into a medium saucepan. Slice vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds into cream. Add whole bean to cream for additional flavour.
Bring cream to a simmer, whisking occasionally, and remove vanilla bean pod. Stir in gelatin. Pour into ramekins and chill for 4 hours.
Puree all ingredients together and strain. Sauce will keep for 2-3 days refrigerated.
Fill a pot with 1 inch of vegetable oil and heat on medium high for 10 minutes. Cut crepes into thin strips.
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and prepare a plate with paper towel for blotting.
To fry frazzles, place 1/3 of the strips in the oil and cook for only 2-3 minutes, until they turn golden brown. Remove from oil and drain for a minute on paper towel. While warm toss in sugar and then reserve. Frazzles can be made up to a day in advance and stored in an airtight container.
To plate panna cotta, immerse ramekins in hot water for 30 seconds to loosen edges (do not submerge). Run a butter knife or palette knife around edge of ramekin and invert onto plate. Spoon strawberry sauce around panna cotta, accent with cut up strawberries and place crepe frazzles on top. If plating a molded pannacotta, follow the same technique to invert mold onto a platter. Some strawberry sauce can be poured over mold, with reserves kept on the side. Top mold with strawberries and frazzles.