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Cilantro Panna Cotta with strawberrysauce

The third TGRWT ((They go really well together)) is happening at “Bounteous Bites” these days. That is a blogging event which combines seemingly incompatible ingredients by their aroma, which are the same, chemically. The assignment is to develop a recipie that combines these two ingredients. This time it is cilantro and strawberries, but it was indifferent which parts of cilantro you use. I really like cilantro, which is why, without a lot of molecular gastronomic knowledge, I decided to give it a try. According to the motto “easy does it” I start with something simple but effective: Panna Cotta. It isn’t as exciting Strawberryfoam, but my colleagues liked it.

My first thought was that lemon and cilantro get along really well, lemon also gets along with cream and strawberries. I ended up with a recipe where Panna Cotta is flavoured with lemon peel and cilantro. This is complemented by a sauce made from fresh strawberries and lemon juice. In my first try I had used too little cilantro and too much lemon peel, for fear of it being too strong in taste. In another experiment the tastes where more balanced. Here is the newer version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Liter cream (ca. 1000g)
12g Gelatine or Agar Agar for vegetarians
finely grated ½ leomon peel
two handfulls of cilantro

500g strawberries
juice of one lemon
4 Tablespoons sugar

The cream is simmered at low heat for 15 min with the lemon peel. The gelatine is prepared according to the directions on the package and then stirred into the cream. The pot is taken off the heat and the cilantro added. After letting it steep for five minutes, fill the cream into cold bowls and let cool over night. Now take the cleaned and halved strawberries and bring to a boil with the lemon juice and sugar. After simmering for 10 min, remove from heat. The Panna Cotta can be served with a hot or cold sauce.

What I always liked about Panna Cotta was the soft creamy consistency. This is really brought out by the freshness of the lemon and cilantro. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

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