Honey Panna Cotta with Strawberries

There is a serious lack of dessert recipes on this site.  In case you have managed to not eat each and every strawberry when you picked up your box, here is a really fun and easy recipe that is sure to impress dinner guests.  It is incredibly delicate, and benefits greatly from using the best milk and cream you can get your hands on.  It comes from one of my very favorite pastry chefs, Alice Medrich from Pure Dessert. I like to make it in my grandmother’s tea cups rather than in ramekins. 

1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
3 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
Strawberries from your box
Turbinado or regular sugar, to taste (optional)
Mint or lemon verbena, to taste (optional)- chopped fine
A few squeezes of lemon juice (optional)

Pour the milk into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it.  Set aside, without stirring, for 5-10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream, honey, and salt until steaming hot, stirring from time to time to dissolve the sugar.  Off the heat, add the milk and gelatin and stir well to dissolve the gelatin.  Set the bowl in a larger bowl of water and ice cubes and stir frequently until the mixture thickens.

Divide the mixture evenly among 6 glasses or ramekins.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight.  

Quarter or halve your berries.  You can either top the panna cotta with the raw berries, or put them in a bowl and sprinkle them with turbinado sugar, lemon juice, and mint/lemon verbena.  Mix all ingredients well with your hands and let sit until the juices have started to run from the berries and the sugar is completely dissolved (about 20 minutes).  Spoon over the panna cotta.

To serve the panna cotta, you can either leave it in the ramekins or wrap each ramekin in a hot towel for 10-15 seconds and then flip them out onto a plate.