Pandan Panna Cotta
Adapted from Chef Sameera Viraj of Echoes Boutique Hotel
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes total
Serves: 6 makes 900ml/1.9pints
- 600ml/1.2pints pure, double or thickened cream
- 300ml/10.6flozs coconut cream
- 200g/7ozs sugar
- 4 pandan leaves
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 teaspoons gelatin powder
For Port Wine Grapes
- 150g/5ozs sugar
- 100ml/3.5flozs port wine or marsala wine
- 300g/10.6ozs seedless grapes
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornflour/fine cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry
For Pandan Oil
- 100ml/3.5flozs grapeseed oil (or neutral oil, not olive oil)
- 35g/1.2ozs pandan leaves
- Sea salt to finish
Step 1 - Heat cream and coconut cream together in a saucepan but do not boil. Stir in sugar and stir to melt. Tie pandan leaves into knots and add to the saucepan. Steep with the lid on for 30 minutes.
Step 2 -In a microwave proof wide bowl add water and sprinkle gelatin over it evenly. Wait 30 seconds for it to swell and then microwave for 10 seconds or until liquid. Add to the still warm cream and stir in. It should be close to room temperature by now so pour into cups and chill for 6 hours or overnight.
Step 3 -To make the port wine grapes, place the wine and sugar in a medium saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat until reduced slightly. Add the grapes and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add lemon juice and stir well. Reduce heat to low and add cornflour slurry to allow to thicken.
Step 4 -To make the pandan oil blend the pandan leaves and grapeseed oil and then heat to 90C/194F. Strain well pressing down to remove all of the oil. Chill. Add 1 tablespoon of the pandan oil to each glass of panna cotta and add port wine grapes and a little port wine syrup. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.
- Other Panna Cotta recipes you might like:
- Vanilla Panna Cotta Recipe
- Mango Panna Cotta recipe
- Chocolate Panna Cotta Cake
- Yogurt Panna Cotta
- Coconut Vanilla Panna Cotta
I made this panna cotta for Miss America and Queen Viv when they came over for an Autumn lunch. They arrived and Queen Viv was on one crutch - she had fractured her foot again. It stems from a childhood injury when she had broken her foot and her parents hadn't taken her to the doctor or hospital so it had never healed correctly. The two have been friends since they were in their 20s. Now that they're in their 70s they always give us the baby boomer perspective on things but with a twist - she's Vivienne Westwood but born in New Zealand while Miss America has the razor sharp wit of Truman Capote but much less mean.
I opened the door and Queen Viv presented me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and hobbled into our house. She lamented an upcoming trip to Portugal and France with her sister in October that has been many years in the making. She was indignant that the trip was not going to be cancelled. She told her doctor that she had every intention to be jacked up with painkillers and that she would hobble her way across both places without a crutch. And then I noticed something, even though she had one crutch and couldn't walk smoothly without it, she was wearing heels. Because glamour is important to her and wearing flat shoes is anathema to her!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you have friends of different generations to you? Have you ever tried a dessert like this?