Winter Citrus Panna Cotta
8 servings
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons orange flower water
2 tablespoons grappa
2 grapefruit and blood orange or mandarin orange or a combination of all three, peeled, sectioned, seeded; slice in between the membrane to have membrane free segments of citrus.
Combine the citrus with the orange flower water and grappa and let marinate while you prepare the custard.
1/2 vanilla bean split and seeds scraped
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons sugar
2 cups cream
1 ½ cups milk
Canola oil or Pam
Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise with a small, sharp knife. Holding the end of the bean, scrape the seeds from the pod with the knife.
Mix the sugar with vanilla seeds. In a pot, combine the sugar, vanilla seeds, pinch of salt, 1 cup of the cream, the milk and bring just to the boil. Reserve.
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a bowl and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Stir until dissolved. Add the warm vanilla-cream mixture and whisk until blended completely. Whisk in 1 cup cold cream.
Lightly oil 8, 4 ounce aluminum cups or molds. Divide the panna cotta equally into the molds. Refrigerate 6-12 hours.
To serve, unmold on a dessert plate by inverting the cup and lightly shaking. Generously spoon the sauce over each custard before serving.