Bottega - Michael Chiarello [80]
While the crostini cools, spoon the fruit into bowls. Pour the cream into individual creamers or into one decanter, allowing about 1/4 cup cream per serving. Fill a clear glass pitcher with the strawberry sauce.
Heap the crostini into a beautiful bowl. Let everyone choose their crostini and pour the cream or strawberry sauce onto the fruit as they wish.
White Chocolate–Lavender Panna Cotta with Madeira-Rhubarb Pappardelle
SERVES 4
A delicate, creamy panna cotta is always welcome at the end of a meal, and it’s not hard to make. The key to this panna cotta is good white chocolate such as Valrhona or Callebaut. Don’t skimp; buy the best chocolate you can, always. This pretty dessert is more than welcome on its own (and I encourage you to make just the panna cotta if you need a quick dolci), but at Bottega we finish with Madeira rhubarb pappardelle and rhubarb fritti. Once you’ve tried these crisp, flavor-intense little gems, you’ll forget about cooking rhubarb into pies.
Find English lavender buds in specialty stores or baker’s supply stores. It may seem as though this recipe calls for very little, but lavender buds add a good amount of flavor. Look for star anise and cardamom pods in high-end grocery stores. Keep the vanilla bean and cardamom pods whole until you’re ready to cook with them to retain as much of their flavor and aroma as possible.
I prefer to use gelatin sheets rather than powdered gelatin because I like the softer, creamier texture they give desserts (see Resources for gelatin sheets, or substitute 3/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin per sheet). You can make the panna cotta and the rhubarb pappardelle up to 3 days in advance as long as you keep the ramekins plastic-wrapped, the rhubarb covered in its poaching liquid and well sealed, and both refrigerated.
Wine Pairing: Late-harvest Muscat
PANNA COTTA
6 ounces premium white chocolate, chopped
½ cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
½ teaspoon English lavender buds
2 silver gelatin sheets, or 1 gold gelatin sheet, or 2/3 teaspoon powdered gelatin
Ice water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
MADEIRA-RHUBARB PAPPARDELLE
6 rhubarb stalks
1 cup Madeira wine
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
1 cardamom pod
Two 3-inch strips lemon zest
Two 3-inch strips orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 star anise pod
Small pinch of kosher salt
Grind of fresh black pepper
RHUBARB FRITTI
Peanut oil, corn oil, or canola oil for frying
¼ cup cornstarch
¾ cup all-purpose flour
Four 8-inch-long rhubarb stalks
¼ cup powdered sugar
FOR THE PANNA COTTA: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water or in a microwave in short 10-second bursts. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt, and lavender buds. Simmer over medium-low heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat and let steep for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the gelatin sheets in a bowl and add ice water just to cover. Let the sheets sit in the water until they feel rubbery to the touch, about 5 minutes. Take out the sheets, squeeze out the excess water, and add them to the warm milk mixture, stirring until dissolved. (If using powdered gelatin, add it to the warm milk now, stirring until dissolved.) Combine the milk mixture with the melted white chocolate. Whisk and then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in the vanilla.
Spoon the mixture evenly into four 4-ounce ramekins. (You can also spoon it into one large mold or soufflé dish and just scoop out servings for each person.)