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[darchildre]

I generally dislike cooking but still have to eat, so I've worked out a system where I only cook on Sundays and then just pull things out of the fridge or freezer all week. Usually, I make a dessert that I can take as part of my work lunch - this is usually a loaf cake or something like brownies. However, it's been warm and I haven't wanted to bake much, so I've been making panna cotta every week since the beginning of June.

It has been great. Panna cotta takes maybe 5 minutes of active cooking time, it is extremely customizable, and it looks fancy if you unmold it even though it's basically just milk jello. (When I make it for work, I don't unmold it and I make it in little half pint jars for portability.) I've made a bunch of different flavors so far this summer, and have started making small batches of complementary flavored syrups to go with it.

I feel slightly evangelical about this dessert, so I am including my recipe template:

You will need:

• 1 packet of unflavored gelatin* (I'm sorry, I am American, I don't know what this translates to in places where gelatin has different strengths and comes in leaves)
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1 cup of milk**
  
• 1 cup of heavy cream/half and half/more milk, depending on your preference. I usually use heavy cream.
  
• 1 cup of other dairy options/liquid flavorings. Up to 1/2 a cup can be juice, coffee, tea, etc. Other dairy can include yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, creme fraiche, goat cheese, cream cheese, etc. (If you're using something semi-solid like cream cheese, use about 1/2 cup and beat together with the other 1/2 cup of liquid until creamy before adding.)
  
• other optional flavor stuff, like herbs, whole spices, flavor extracts (1/2 tsp is usually good), etc
  
• a pinch of salt
  
• 5 containers that will hold ~6 oz of panna cotta, like ramekins, small bowls, jars, etc

How it works:

• First, decide what kind of flavors you want to add. If it's something like herbs or whole spices, take 1/2 cup of the cream, put it in a pot, heat till just simmering, then remove it from the heat and add your herbs or whatever. Cover it and let it steep for about 30 minutes. (If you don't want to steep anything, you can skip this step.)
  
• Put your cup of milk in a pot and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top. Let it sit for about five minutes, until the surface of the milk looks wrinkled.
  
• Heat the milk on low and whisk to dissolve the gelatin. I mean it about low heat - the milk should never get hot enough that you can't comfortably stick your finger in it. Dissolving the gelatin should only take about two minutes. You can tell if it's dissolved either by rubbing some milk between your fingers and seeing if you can still feel granules or dipping a metal spoon in and seeing if you can see granules on the back. If you can't, the gelatin is dissolved.
  
• Add the sugar and whisk until it too is dissolved. This will only take another couple minutes. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat.
  
• Whisk in the salt, cream, other dairy option, and any juice etc you want to add. If you steeped anything in the cream, strain the steeped cream into the pot and whisk that in too.
  
• Pour the mixture into your containers. Cover these with foil/plastic wrap/jar lids, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. They'll keep in the fridge for a week or so.

Some example combinations I have made:

• I steeped some diced ginger in 1/2 cup of the cream, used 1/2 cup plain yogurt for the extra dairy option, and added 1/2 cup apple cider
  
• steeped the cream with the zest of two limes, used 1/2 cup sour cream for the extra dairy, and added 1/2 cup lime juice (this was very tart - you might want to up the sugar)
  
• steeped the cream with basil and black pepper, and used 1 cup buttermilk for the extra dairy. I topped this one with homemade strawberry syrup.
  
• this week's uses 1 cup coconut milk for the extra "dairy" and I added 1/2 tsp of coconut extra to boost the coconut flavor. I also have pineapple syrup.
  
• if you want to keep things extremely simple, you can make panna cotta with 3 cups of plain milk (divided), and maybe 1/2 tsp of vanilla or rosewater.

If you want to unmold your panna cotta for extra fanciness, dip the container in a bowl of hot water for 15 to 30 seconds, then invert over a bowl or plate and shake gently. It should shlorp*** out pretty easily - if it doesn't, just dip it again. (You can run a knife around the edge if it's very stubborn, but you almost never need to do this.)



*I know you can make panna cotta with agar agar if you are vegan, but I haven't done that so I don't know how it works
**Panna cotta also works well with non-dairy milks and milk products, if you are lactose intolerant
***This is a technical term