This is a classic recipe for easy, rich, and creamy Italian panna cotta. I make this every time I need an impressive, quick dessert!
Yesterday night I made falooda ice cream for my two food-loving boys and left with some extra falooda noodles and basil seeds.
So today morning I tried giving a twist to the classic panna cotta recipe by adding an additional basil flavor to it and serving it with falooda noodles and basil seeds.
Despite the heavy cream, this dessert is perfect as a light not-too-sweet dessert after a heavy meal. If you wish to make an even lighter panna cotta, you can replace some of the heavy cream with a lighter cream or half milk and half cream. So today I used ¾ milk and ½ cream and it was still very much delicious.
Panna cotta is a popular Italian dessert that translates to “cooked cream.” The dessert itself is a simple mixture of cream, sugar, and vanilla. . It comes from Piedmont and its origin dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. Typically it is served with berries, caramel, or chocolate sauce, and because of its great versatility, it is possible to create a different topping every time. It is up to your creativity.
It is very easy to prepare; you do not need special skills, and you have only to use a few tricks. The ingredients are few and easy to find, such as heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar. Gelatin, the so-called “fish glue” in Italian (mainly from pork cartilage, bones, etc..) is commonly used. I prepare a healthier recipe suitable for vegetarians, as well. I replace gelatin with agar-agar, a vegetable derivative with strong gelling activity. Agar-agar is obtained from red algae and is used as a vegetarian substitute for gelatin and as a thickener for soups, as well as in fruit preserves, ice cream, cheesecake, and other desserts.
BASIL PANNACOTTA
We have used fresh picked basil leaves ,fresh milk and whipping cream to make this delicious panna cotta.
- 1 cup – Fresh cream (or whipping cream)
- 3/4 cup – Milk (whole milk preferably)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tbsp – agar agar powder
- 1 tbsp – water
- 1/2 cup – Basil leaves (italian)
- Topping:
- 1 tsp basil seeds (soaked in ¼ cup water)
- 1 tbsp boiled falooda noodles
- 1 tsp rose syrup
- Take a medium size pan .Pour ¾ cup milk into it,and put on medium low flame. Add Basil leaves to it and boil till the milk reduces to 1/2 cup. Now blend the basil leaves along with the milk. Strain it and pour it into the same pan.
- In a small bowl mix agar agar powder and cold water and keep aside to bloom for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Again keep the pan on medium-low flame ,add above strain milk to it.Add cream and heat it stirring occasionally, so that the cream doesn’t stick to the bottom. Let it not boil.
- Add sugar and stir. Keep the flame still low. Now, add agar agar mix to the pan and mix well. Heat until the sugar and agar dissolves and the mixture is just about to start boiling. Heat for another 3-4 mins in low flame, mixing constantly and turn off the flame. Use a fine mesh and filter the mixture into a clean bowl.
- Transfer the mixture to tall glass and leave it out on a platform for half an hour and then place refrigerate until the basil panna cotta is set. I left it overnight in the refrigerator.
- While serving add little soaked basil seeds ,falooda noodles and 1 tsp rose syrup on top of the panna cotta and serve cold. Enjoy!
Do not boil the cream + milk mixture for a long time.
Use a full fat milk preferably.
Agar agar is a vegetarian option available for setting the panna cotta. If not a vegetarian, you can use gelatin as well. Follow the instructions on the package for direction of use and quantity.
You can use paan(betel)leaves instead of basil leaves.
