Dairy-Free Lemon and Coconut Panna Cotta with Mixed Berries
Traditional panna cotta comes from the northern Italian region of Piedmont. Usually sweetened cream with gelatin, it can be flavored with coffee, rum, or vanilla. I was fortunate to work in Udine, Italy for a short while in my early thirties. While there, I had the opportunity to visit the Piedmont region and taste an authentic panna cotta while I was there. To this day, I remember how wonderful that dessert looked and tasted, and how simple it was to create and serve. Like so many really great dishes, the ingredients and preparation are simple. Sometimes we just seem to over complicate things by adding too much or trying to improve a classic with flavors that don’t match well. My cooking and teaching philosophies have always been the same: learn the classics, learn the techniques, and keep it simple and healthy. You just can’t go wrong that way.
We don’t use a great deal of dairy in our house, so it’s always a healthy challenge to come up with something sweet that doesn’t need but has the same look and consistency as cow’s milk. This is my variation of panna cotta using coconut milk, and I’m using frozen berries harvested in North Carolina as an added treat.
Dairy-Free Lemon and Coconut Panna Cotta with Mixed Berries
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 cups coconut milk
1 packet gelatin powder (0.25oz)
1 vanilla pod, split, scrape the seeds, and retain
2 tablespoons organic honey
1 tablespoon fine sugar
1 lemon zest, plus juice from the lemons
To serve:
1 cup North Carolina frozen mixed berries
2 tablespoons organic honey
How to Make:
Pour ½ cup coconut milk into your blender. Sprinkle the gelatin in, and leave for 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve.
Pour the remaining coconut milk into a small pan, along with the vanilla seeds, honey, sugar, and lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil then pour into the blender. Blend for 60 seconds, and then pour the panna cotta mixture into four small ramekins. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 3 hours or, better still, overnight.
Place the fruit in a small sauce pan along with the honey and gently heat through. The fruit juices should combine to a make a deep red sauce and the fruit should be slightly warm.
When ready to serve, dip the ramekins in a bowl of warm water to loosen the panna cotta, and then invert each onto a plate. Spoon over the warm mixed berries.