lemon verbena panna cotta
with home made honey comb crunchies
The second there is a clear and sunny day with temps between 72-76F I am a new person. The idea of happiness? Suddenly, I am familiar with it. But, then I want to spend all my free time outside and not in a stuffy, too hot kitchen with the oven on for hours. Which is why panna cotta is perfect for me and you too. It’s so quick to put together- unless of course when you want to infuse it with lemon verbena, then you add a 30 minute infusion period but like that’s totally optional. Then of course, the 4 hours it takes for the gelatin to set- minimum. So, you could throw this together super quick before heading out for a day at the beach and come home to a perfect creamy treat to end the day. Wins all around if you ask me.
The base for this panna cotta is enriched with creme fraiche and mascarpone which leaves it tasting like cheesecake without the water bath. The creme fraiche could definitely be swapped out for sour cream but the mascarpone is non-negotiable.
Panna cotta is set with gelatin but through tons of researching I did find this vegetarian friendly alternative called vege-gel. Which worked in a 1 to 1 swap for gelatin in this recipe.
Now, the lemon verbena is totally optional, but brings this springy herbaceous flavor that I don’t think you should skip out on. I bought a comically large bag of dried leaves but you can also use fresh. I paired this with some crushed up pieces of house made honeycomb candy but you can really pair it with anything your heart desires or eat it on its own. Roasted strawberries, passion fruit pulp, any summer fruit with a drizzle of olive oil. All gonna be winners in my book.
This recipe makes 4 cups of liquid panna cottss, which you can pour into any available vessel. Anything and everything.. trust me, I tested this one out a few times and every bowl, glass and mug in my apartment has held panna cotta at this point. I will say, this is very rich and I’d recommend half filling whatever you’re pouring into or choosing shallow coupes. I am though, a huge fan of large format desserts, so you could fill up a large mold with panna cotta for sharing. Because, we are entering dinner party season (all seasons).. it’d be perf.
