
Panna Cotta is a perfect warm weather dessert. There is no oven required and, with berries and stone fruit at their peak, it is a perfect backdrop for those bright flavors and colors. This recipe is adapted from
Smitten Kitchen.
Yogurt Panna Cotta
Makes 8 - 4 ounce servings
Ingredients for Panna Cotta
- Neutral oil for wiping the inside of your bowls or jars if you are planning to unmold the panna cotta (I use lemon olive oil.)
- 4 tablespoons water
- 2-½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 2 cups of plain, whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 cups of milk or a combination of milk and cream - divided. (Milk will make the resulting panna cotta lighter in texture. Adjust to your preference.)
- ¼ to ½ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions for Panna Cotta
Place water in a small bowl. Stir in gelatin. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Whisk together all the yogurt and 1 cup of milk/cream mixture.
In a saucepan, bring remaining milk/cream mixture and sugar to a simmer.
Stir in water and gelatin mixture (it will dissolve immediately) and remove from heat.
Whisk this mixture into yogurt mixture, then stir in lemon juice at the end.
Pour into cups and chill at least 2 hours. Will hold for a couple of days.
Fresh fruit, honey (
McEvoy Ranch Wildflower Honey), nuts, fruit preserves (McEvoy Ranch Blood Orange Marmalade, Apricot or Triple Berry Jam), maple syrup - or your own homemade syrups or preserves make outstanding seasonal toppings.
Here is what the gelatin looks like when it is dissolved in the water.

Here is the gelatin after adding to the warmed yogurt and milk mixture. Notice that it looks a little lumpy. Don’t worry!

Seconds later, it has all dissolved into the yogurt and milk mixture.

Here are the cups ready to be chilled.

One of my friends calls panna cotta “milk jello” - accurate in a way, but this really is an elegant dessert. Panna Cotta certainly dresses up a summer supper! You could do red and blue berries for the 4th of July! Enjoy!
smittenkitchen.com
