Pannacotta with rhubarb compote and fancy roll of almonds

Pannacotta with rhubarb compote and fancy roll of almonds

Let’s not kid ourselves. Pannacotta is a tacky dessert. Whenever a restaurant wants to be fancy without having the means to be a high-end place, there’s pannacotta on the menu. It’s an easy dessert to make, it’s easy to keep refrigerated until it’s time to serve, and whatever topping you might use, it can all be prepared on a forehand. Excellent for a party at home or at a restaurant that has no time for any fine desserts. Am I being a snob for saying this? Maybe, but I also want to stress that it’s very tasty. Yup, I just took a shit on a dessert that I actually enjoy. Now, let’s make a pannacotta with some fancy condiments. You will make yourself look like a fancy cook when you treat your guests with this!

The compote

  • A kilo of rhubarb
  • 2 dl of water
  • Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1 dl of maple syrup
  • A pinch of salt
  1. Some people claim you need to peel rhubarb if it’s late in the season, and the peel is a little tough. I’m not sure this is true if you’re making something that is going to cook for a long time, but if you really want to make sure there are no “strings” of rhubarb in there, go ahead and peel. But if you do, save the peel and put them in a tea bag or a cloth and boil it with the rest of the rhubarb. It has flavor and color that you don’t want to through away!
  2. Some water in a saucepan, chop the rhubarb and put it in there.
  3. Simmer for 30 minutes until it’s all soft and nice. You can mix it with a stand mixer, but it will dissolve by just moving around a spoon at this point.
  4. Add all the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate. It will become thicker when cool.

rhubarb

Pannacotta

A pannacotta is basically a sweetened cream with vanilla and then gelatine to make it firm. But let’s make a fancy one by flavoring it a little.

  • 3 sheets of gelatine (that’s usually how they’re sold, check the back of the packaging)
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 3 dl of full fat cream
  • 2 dl of sourcream
  • 0,5 dl sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom (grind it yourself for best flavor, but you can buy it as a powder)
  • Zest for 1/3 lemon
  • Pinch of salt
  1. Put the gelatine in cold water to make it soft
  2. Pour all the cream and sourcream into a saucepan. Why sourcream, you ask? Because it will give it a nice tart tone.
  3. Cut the vanilla bean open, scrape it, and put both the seeds and the whole pod into the saucepan with the cream
  4. Add the zest and cardamom and sugar and a pinch of salt
  5. Bring it to a boil and then immediately take it down to a simmer, and let it simmer for 20 minutes
  6. Through a sieve so you remove pieces of vanilla pod
  7. Take the soft gelatine (not the water) and put it all into the saucepan. Stir very well or else you might have nasty gelatine at the bottom!
  8. Fill cups or any other form you might want
  9. Cover them with plastic film, and put them in the refrigerator for about 3 hours to set.

Pannacotta

Almond roll

  • 2 handfuls of almonds
  • 1 dl of maple syrup
  • Pinch of flake salt (because of the big nice flakes)
  • Baking sheet
  1. Crush or cut the almonds into large pieces
  2. Roast them on a hot dry pan, but be careful so they don’t burn
  3. Add maple syrup and let it bubble and boil while you stir around until the water evaporates and you’re left with a thick sweet mess in the pan
  4. Take a baking sheet and spread the gooey goodness on there and sprinkle salt over it
  5. Use the baking sheet to roll the thing into a tube, and then cut the cube into smaller tubes.

almonds and maple syrup

Serve

  1. Pop out the pannacotta onto a plate
  2. Top it with your rhubarb compote
  3. Place your almond roll in a nice fancy position, and take the applauce!
Pannacotta