What is life without a little letting go of our fears? I feel that it is the way to learn. For example, I have developed a crazy fear of flying, at time of take-off, although I have been travelling every year since I was six. What is the deal, Maria? You may ask... The deal is I have no idea how this fear got there in the first place. Perhaps it has to do with all the terrible accidents we find out (because of internet) the last 10 to 15 years or a part of inhibited feat from a close relative. Whatever the reason, I try to manage with it and at times...to let go.
I apply the same technique with almost everything else that scares me. Simply, I try to let go and see what happens. So, yesterday I decided to let go of my fear of making something without having a good recipe in mind. I wanted to make a lavender infused panna cotta. Looking around the net, nothing satisfied my needs exactly. You see, I'm a person that likes to adjust to situations. And if a situation means I am missing an ingredient or I would like to use an ingredient before it goes bad, I do it. Eventually my adventure of panna cotta making began on a Sunday morning!
Lavender is such a beautiful and useful plant. It has amazing properties we can benefit from, such as muscle relaxing, improvement of sleep and mood, balance of blood sugar and many more. We can use it when it's dry through various ways, like a herbal infusion, a face scrub, infused vinegar or syrup, cooking and others. And let's not forget the powerful use as an essential oil. This plant is a miracle maker for all purposes. And...it's so pretty.
It goes without saying that I had a lot of lavender hanging around. First thing that popped to mind was panna cotta infused with lavender and a rum based syrup on top. Panna cotta, a dessert originated from Italy, means "baked cream". And it means just that. The heavy cream is cooked lightly to create a creamy interior, while the gelatine used in the recipe makes the jelly appearance so fun to play with. It's a very easy dessert to make and a perfect one for summertime!
Lavender Panna Cotta with Rum based syrup and Nectarine slices
ingredients (for 4 medium sized panna cottas)
150gr whole fat milk
350gr heavy cream
4 gelatine leaves
3 tablespoons dried lavender
60gr sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the rum based syrup+nectarine slices
1/2 cup lavender syrup*
1/2 cup water
1 shot of rum
nectarine slices (peach is ok too)
*for the lavender syrup you will need: 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar and 3 tablespoons dry lavender. You shimmer everything in a pot for 15 minutes (low temperature) and let it cool down completely.
How do I make it?
1. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.
2. In a pot, put half the portion of heavy cream with sugar, milk and dried lavender and cover the pot to shimmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Then, with your hands take the gelatine leaves and squeeze them tightly to get out the water. Add them to the pot and whisk quickly until they dissolve completely. Pour inside the remaining heavy cream and whisk again until combined. Use a strainer to remove the lavender by pouring the mixture in a bowl with the strainer on top.
3. Let the mixture cool a bit for 10 minutes. Take your preferred tins for panna cotta (I used small jars I had) and fill them evenly with the mixture. Next thing, put them in the fridge for at least 4 to 6 hours or overnight (desired).
4. For the syrup, mix all the ingredients together and cook in medium heat until the nectarine slices soften. It will take around 20 minutes. When ready, remove the pot from heat. Let the syrup cool for some minutes before using it on the panna cotta.
5. When it's time to serve, take the panna cotta tins out. If you want to remove them from their tins, there are two ways to achieve it. You either hold them in your hands and rub them for some minutes. Or you can fill a pot with boiling water and carefully place the tins inside for a minute or less. Then, all you have to do is reverse the tins on a smooth surface or plate and tap the bottom firmly. When they're ready to serve, simply put the desired amount on top of the dessert.
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