Showing all posts tagged pesche

I read in an article a while ago that prejudices can be useful sometimes – especially when facing unprecedented, possibly dangerous, situations. Prejudices give us, in some sorts, a pre-digested knowledge of anything, and it may be a good starting point. But avoiding making discernments on our own is a crime.
I don’t understand how can one possibly give up freedom of reasoning, of building their own ideas on anything. It requires study and effort, oftentimes. But it is far much better than being stuck on the doorstep, saying no in principle, giving up the use of one’s brain because someone already thought in your place (often badly).
This is the story of this truly simple recipe. It came out from an idea I stole from Sara of @shanty_la_gatta IG profile, who made a terrific tart with the balsamic vinegar. At the beginning I wondered about the use of balsamic vinegar in desserts – but clearly the answer was yes! That’s how I thought of balancing the sourness of the balsamic vinegar with panna cotta, that is quite sweet and velvety. And that’s where the magic happened.
The recipe is the one of the panna cotta you can see here. The balsamic vinegar sauce I created on the spot. To make it more aromatic, I roasted the nectarines with rosemary, which goes along great with peaches. This is all to serve you this yogurt panna cotta with balsamic vinegar caramelized nectarines and rosemary. If you want to take my advice, make use you use white balsamic vinegar, it will give you a wonderful golden syrup that will be perfect for your food photography! If you don’t find it, at least remember to remove most of the peaches you want to use as topping from the vinegar soon after cooking, so they will not absorb all of the colour and will remain nice and yellowy.
Ingredients (serves 4)
125 ml fresh cream
125 ml milk + 4 tablespoons
4 gr di gelatine
60 gr powdered sugar
190 gr greek yogurt
zest of half a lemon + 2 tablespoons of juice

50 gr balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons honey
Fresh rosemary

Preparation
Let the gelatine soak in cold water – minimum time depending on the instructions on the gelatine case.
Pour the milk into a small casserole with the fresh cream and bring it to simmering point.
Take it off the stove and add the powdered sugar; stir well to prevent lumps.
Then add the zest and the lemon juice, stir and let it sit to cool down.
When lukewarm add the greek yogurt and stir well again.
Lastly, squeeze the gelatine, put in it a small pan with a couple of tablespoons of yogurt, and just after it’s melted pour it into the cream. Mix well and then pour the cream with the yogurt in glasses or other moulds of your choice and let it sit into the fridge for at least 4 hours. I let it cool well overnight, and it worked just perfectly.

Whilst the panna cotta cools down, put in a baking tray the nectarines, sliced in about half centimetre think slices. In a small bowl mix the balsamic vinegar, the honey and the powdered sugar and mix well. Then pour over the peaches, spread the fresh rosemary on top at bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

Once baked, remove the nectarines and let them cool at room temperature on one side. Then sieve the caramelized balsamic vinegar and set aside to cool down too.

Take the panna cotta glasses out of the fridge some 5 minutes before serving, and serve it with a few spoonful of vinegar balsamic sauce, some nectarine slices and a bit of fresh rosemary.