ending a meal is like ending a story. dessert touches on all that came before, then draws the curtain. ultimately, the very best desserts are ellipses. they haunt us into the next day, coquettish little things that they are. i've spent seven years in suspended lust over a panna cotta in rhubarb consomme. i swear that thing was trying to sleep with me. i haven't dared touch a panna cotta recipe for fear i could not get it right. then, a gift of honey arrived, gleaming up from its jar like the iris of an eye, and i knew it was time. my first go was a miss. a recipe from chanterelle involved straining yogurt overnight, egg white custards, and a total of ten bowls. the result was blah and the kitchen was a mess. i compared recipes, i tweaked, i added a twist of pink peppercorn to flirt with your tongue, and finally, a panna cotta fit to be home for a glaze of dark honey and pomegranate rubies. one entirely worthy of punctating a meal, or being consumed solo, cross-legged on your bedroom floor, seduced.
yogurt panna cotta with honey & pomegranate
(serves 6)
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin
1 1/2 cups whole milk yogurt (preferably greek or goat's milk yogurt)
2 cups half & half
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon pink peppercorns (optional)
1 cup pomegranate arils
1/4 cup honey
place 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside for ten minutes to allow the gelatin to bloom.
whisk together the yogurt and 1 cup of half & half in large bowl. place the remaining cup of half & half and the confectioner's sugar in a small saucepan. bring to a low simmer, and add the gelatin, stirring until it is integrated. pour the warm half & half into the yogurt mixture and whisk to combine. add cracked pink peppercorns if you are using.
pour the panna cotta into pretty glasses or individual ramekins. cover each with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. serve cold, with honey and pomegranate arils spooned over the top of each panna cotta.
notes
* an adaptation of amanda hesser's adaptation of mario batali. we cooks are shameless thiefs.