Strawberry Panna Cotta

This is something I have wanted to do for a long time. Striking, beautiful and different was the initial aim, but after being so close to the project all I see is a simple Panna Cotta on the plate by now. 

Panna Cottas are brilliant and incredibly simple to make. Much like soup, I could make a different Panna Cotta for every day of the week. It's a small dream, but I would love to have "Panna Cotta of the Day" on my menu. Here is the basic recipe: 

900ml Double Cream
600ml Whole Milk
300g Caster Sugar
7 - 8 Gelatine Leaf Sheets

Bingo. So to make a Strawberry Panna Cotta, get a handful of the ripest Strawberries you can find and blend into a puree, then pass it through a sieve. What I do, depending on the consistency of whatever puree/flavour I add, is choose whether to replace it with the milk or the cream. For example, I might get 300ml of puree after blending the Strawberries; it will be a fairly thick consistency, so I'll replace it with 300ml of the cream. The reason I try to keep the same volume of liquid is because the amount of gelatine leaves I use gives a perfect panna cotta texture. If you wanted to make a coconut panna cotta, just replace all 600ml of the whole milk with coconut milk. So easy. If you are using vanilla pods, you must bring the milk and the cream up to a gentle boil to infuse the vanilla, but allow it to cool slightly before adding the soaked gelatine leaves. Either way, you need to heat up the milk and cream in order to dissolve the sugar. The gelatine won't dissolve in cold liquid, but it will spoil in boiling liquid. Whack it in a few Pokal glasses and chill right down until set. 

The best thing about this recipe is the fact that you can save it if it doesn't set the way you want it to. Take the mixture out, bring it back up to heat and dissolve another couple of gelatine leaves. You have to let it cool back down again, but if you're in a hurry the freezer can work wonders (just don't freeze it). 

The only other component on this dish is the white chocolate ... Two words: Transfer sheet. Garnish with some nicely cut berries, passion fruit powder and micro herbs (not really available to the general public, but you can grow your own). It has been described as "a party on a plate" - honestly, anybody can do this. Just make sure you have good thoughts and a beautiful person to inspire you and no doubt whatever you put on a plate will look like fun.