Tag Archives: heavy cream

Dessert

Classic Panna Cotta

Creamy, smooth, and almost ridiculously easy to make, panna cotta is one of my favorite comfort food desserts. Recipes with all sorts of embellishments and variations abound. My favorite, though, remains the simplest of all: scented with vanilla, tasting purely of cream (panna cotta means, after all, cooked cream).

You can swap in almond extract for the vanilla if you’re feeling experimental, or add a few crushed amaretto cookies for texture just before spooning the panna cotta mixture into the ramekins. Whatever you do, be sure to let the cream come to a full boil before pouring it over the softened gelatin, or else the gelatin may not dissolve properly, resulting in an improperly set panna cotta; and allow at least 6 hours for thorough chilling, so it is creamy and set all the way through.

For a jolt of color and contrasting acidity, you can cook a cup of fresh berries with a few spoonfuls of sugar into a jammy coulis, about 10 minutes over medium heat; cool thoroughly, then spoon over the chilled panna cotta upon serving.

Serves 4

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla pod, scraped
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 package unflavored gelatin

Combine 1 and ½ cups of the cream with the vanilla and sugar in a small pot over a medium flame. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a full boil and the sugar dissolves. The cream has to come to a boil, or the gelatin may not dissolve later.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining ½ cup of cold cream in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine. Let stand 2 minutes. Pour in the boiling cream and whisk constantly to dissolve the gelatin. If needed, strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove any undissolved gelatin particles.

Pour into 4 individual 3-ounce ramekins and cover each ramekin with plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 6 hours (or up to 1 day). Serve chilled.

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Dessert

Two-Layer Blueberry-Pistachio Semifreddo

Don’t be daunted by the long ingredient list and multiple steps in the recipe below. This is quite an easy semifreddo to put together and requires no special tools or ice cream machines. It looks striking, with two distinct layers, one intensely blueberry-colored and flavored, the other creamier and richer in dairy notes. It tastes like summer on a plate, and the surprise element is definitely the pistachios, which have a real affinity for blueberries. I used Sicilian pistachios from Bronte, which are deeply green and very aromatic; but any unsalted pistachios will do. Store any leftover pistachios (or all nuts for that matter) in the freezer to stave off rancidity; the high fat content of nuts makes them turn faster than you’d like.

Serves 8

For the cooked blueberries:

  • 3 cups blueberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in tablespoon cool water

For the dark mousse:

  • ½ cup shelled unsalted pistachios
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ pound cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup heavy cream, chilled

For the swirled mousse:

  • 3 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 ounces milk
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 12 shelled unsalted pistachios, finely chopped

Make the cooked blueberries: In a 1-quart saucepan, combine the blueberries with the sugar and bring to a light boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until jammy, about 10 minutes. Return to a vigorous boil, stir in the cornstarch slurry while whisking, and cook 30 seconds, or until glossy and the juices are thick. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Make the dark mousse: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pistachios out on a tray and roast in the preheated oven 8 minutes, or until toasty. Cool and coarsely chop. Set aside.

Place the sour cream and cream cheese in a food processor and add ½ cup of the cooked blueberries. Puree until smooth and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold in the blueberry-cream cheese mixture until blended, without deflating the cream. Stir in the chopped pistachios and 1 cup of the cooked blueberries.

Line a loaf pan or terrine mold with plastic wrap, allowing excess to hang over the sides. Spoon the dark mousse into the mold and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

Meanwhile, make the swirled mousse: Combine the condensed milk, milk, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat; cook 3 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture bubbles. Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl; gradually add the hot milk mixture, whisking until smooth.

Stir in the yogurt and vanilla. Cool completely. Stir in the remaining cooked blueberries until the mixture looks swirly; don’t overmix, as you want to keep the mousse looking marbled. Pour over the frozen dark mousse in the mold and sprinkle with the finely chopped pistachios.

Freeze until firm, then wrap tightly in the plastic wrap and keep frozen until ready to serve (up to 1 week).

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Fresh Pasta

Reginette with Pine Nut & Marjoram Pesto

One of our favorite summer dishes is fresh pasta (either round corzetti or the long, curly ribbons known as reginette, pictured here) tossed with a highly fragrant pine nut pesto. We look forward to this Ligurian specialty in the cold of winter, when fresh marjoram is not an option, and make it almost weekly when the marjoram on our deck starts to grow in. For a lighter (but no less delicious) version of the sauce, you can omit the heavy cream and double the milk, as we often do at home.

This recipe is adapted from my latest cookbook, The Best Pasta Sauces.

Serves 2

For the pesto:

  • 3 tablespoons marjoram leaves
  • 1 plump garlic clove, peeled
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • ¼ cup whole milk, plus extra as needed
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

For the reginette:

  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup semolina flour, plus extra for dusting
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs

To cook:

  • 2 tablespoons salt

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Make the pesto: Combine all the ingredients except the Parmigiano in a food processor and process until smooth. Place in a bowl large enough to accommodate the pasta later, and stir in the Parmigiano. If the sauce seems too thick, dilute with additional milk; the pesto should have the texture of heavy cream, but it won’t be perfectly smooth due to the nuts.

(The pesto keeps in the refrigerator up to 1 week as long as it is topped with a thin layer of olive oil; it can also be frozen for up to 1 month if the Parmigiano has not been stirred in.)

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Make the reginette: Mix the flour, semolina flour, and salt on a counter and shape into a mound. Make a well in the center and add the eggs to the well. Using your fingertips, work the flour into the eggs, then gather into a dough and knead by hand; add a little water if the dough is too dry or a little flour if it is too moist. Knead for 10 minutes, or until smooth, then shape into a ball, wrap in plastic, and let rest 30 minutes.

Cut the pasta dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping the others covered, roll out each piece using a pasta machine into a thin sheet. Sprinkle each sheet generously with semolina flour and roll up loosely jelly roll-style. Cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips with curly edges using a reginette attachment. Toss with semolina flour to prevent sticking. Spread out in a single layer on a few semolina-dusted trays. (If you don’t have a reginette attachment, you can order one from Fantes or simply cut into tagliatelle or pappardelle, or whatever shape you fancy.)

To cook: Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the reginette and cook until al dente; drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Stir 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into the pesto in the serving bowl. Add the drained pasta, and stir to coat. Adjust the salt if necessary and stir in additional reserved pasta cooking water if the sauce seems too thick to properly coat the pasta. Serve hot.

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