Chamomile and Raw Honey Panna Cotta
Sheep’s milk makes the best panna cotta. No question about it.
But…if you find yourself lacking a bit in that department, do not despair! Acceptable panna cotta may still be yours! You will simply have to make do with a bit 0f sub-stit-utions.
And this is how it’s to be done:
A cup of good, fresh (preferably raw) whole cow’s milk is warmed gently in a saucepan until it just starts to quiver. A tablespoon and a half of fresh chamomile flowers are stirred in (or two teaspoons dried—you know—from a tea bag—just rip that open and stir it in) as well as two tablespoons raw honey. It’s covered and left by itself thank-you-very-much to steep for a half hour or so. Once it’s time is up, the milk is strained and set aside—it’s okay if some of the chamomile stigmas remain—a little fleck here and there never hurt anyone, and can be a bit pretty at times (think vanilla bean flecks).
The mixture is now placed in a mixer and whipped with a half cup mascarpone cream until smooth. If you are using sheep’s milk you may omit this step. Simply add an extra half cup milk to the first step, and call it good. (Okay. More than good. Call it the best darn panna cotta you’ve ever had.)
Remember that sauce pan from the beginning? Yes. That one. Another half cup milk is added to it and this time that milk is brought to a full boil. It doesn’t matter if it’s raw or not, since it’s going to be boiled. Once it is, the heat is turned off and one package (one quarter ounce) unflavored gelatin is briskly stirred in. This mixture is immediately strained and poured into the waiting chamomile-milk-honey-mascarpone, where is it stirred in well.
The panna cotta is now ready to be molded. At the Farm, we’ve used any variety of molds, but prefer silicone donut molds—you know, the ones with the hole in the middle—the finished panna cotta is easy to remove and that hole is a perfect place to hide a berry or five. Now. You may not have a silicone panna cotta donut mold at your house. That’s okay. Use what you have. But you may have to lightly grease it first (in which oil of the vegetable variety is rubbed very gently onto the surface with a cloth).
The mixture is poured into the molds and set in the fridge until set, usually about three hours, but that depends on the size of the mold. Larger molds=longer set times. At which time it may be unmolded and served, preferably with berries, as previously stated.
*If you find yourself having difficulty un-molding the panna cotta, the bottom side of the mold may be dipped into a pan of warm water, taking care not to let that water seep over into your creation. Trust me. It would be ruined. Completely ruined. And that would be a shame wouldn’t it? Even if it is just acceptable panna cotta, it is surely better than no panna cotta at all!
