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A little blog about food with recipes, reviews, commentary, and honesty.

I also offer event catering and private chef services; check out Earls Barton Eats! for more details.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Food Porn: Coconut Panna Cotta with Pineapple Salsa


I'm so very sorry that there haven't been any new posts for a while. This is because of two factors: firstly I've been busy planning and establishing my new catering business Earls Barton Eats! (EEP MY OWN BUSINESS!) and secondly my brain has been a bit all over the place recently and it can't seem to be able to focus on more than one thing at a time. 

For example, this morning I went shopping for the ingredients to create this panna cotta. I thought all was going fine until I got home and realised I'd forgotten the most important ingredient; coconut milk. 

So I returned to the supermarket once more and bought said coconut milk. Then got home again and realised I'd forgotten the second most important ingredient; pineapple. Stupid brain. 

So after three trips to the supermarket, here it is... 


Ingredients to serve 3-4: 

1 tin of full-fat coconut milk
200ml of full-fat milk
100g of caster sugar
1tsp of vanilla extract
1 sachet of powdered gelatine
1 small tin of pineapple chunks in juice (you can use fresh if in season)
1 lime
1 stick of lemongrass
5-6 mint leaves

This will be easier than you think, I promise. Panna cottas can understandably be intimidating because of the will it/won't it set drama. But get the ratio of liquid to gelatine spot on and you have nothing to worry about. 

Firstly gently heat the coconut milk, milk, caster sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, then turn the heat up and bring to the boil. When boiled turn off the heat immediately. 

Pour 200ml of the hot liquid into a jug or bowl and sprinkle in the gelatine; always add gelatine to liquid not the other way around! Whisk together until the gelatine has dissolved then pour the 200ml of liquid back into the saucepan with the rest of the liquid and stir together. 

Immediately pour the liquid into dariole moulds, making sure you fill right up to the rim. It's useful to put the moulds into a tray before you start for easy transportation to the fridge, otherwise the moulds will be too hot to move easily after you pour the liquid in. These measurements will make roughly 3 1/2-4 panna cottas if you're using dariole moulds, but easily 4 if you're using ramekins. Place all the panna cottas into the fridge to set for at least 3 hours or ideally as long as you can up to 24 hours. 

To make the salsa pulse the lemongrass and mint together in a food processor and place into a bowl. Add the juice of half a lime and the zest of a whole one and mix together. Then add the pineapple chunks, drained of their juice, and mix all together. Place into the fridge for the pineapple to marinate for about an hour. 

When the panna cottas have set (they'll be firm on top and jiggly when you shake them) remove them from the fridge. For easy turning out dip each mould halfway into a bowl of boiling water for around 10-15 seconds, then place them onto the worktop and put a plate on top. While holding the mould to the plate, turn upside down. You might need to give the mould a bit of a shake to release the panna cotta but you can hear when they're released from the mould as they'll make a squelching noise. If they don't release first time, just dip the mould back into the boiling water for a few seconds. 

Serve on a plate with a spoonful of the pineapple salsa. The panna cotta will be glossy and creamy, working nicely with the fresh zing of the salsa! Perfect to finish off a spicy and hot South-East Asian meal. 







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