Recipe
Vanilla Panna Cotta with Red Gooseberry Compote
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
4 persons
I know I mentioned before that I have soft spot for berries. Anything that ends with the word ‘berries’ catches my attention. As usual, I was on the way home and I stopped by M&S, with an intention to buy some fresh fruits. I walked near to the fruits section and scanned through the shelves. Then, I saw a few clear packets of fruits that look like grapes but aren’t really grapes.
So, I took a closer look and it reads red gooseberries on the label. Oh wow! I love the green gooseberries but haven’t seen the red ones. Without thinking much, I securely grabbed 2 packets and went straight to the till. I had started to think what to use them for. Though, not an expert in dessert making, I always love something that is simple and doesn’t take a lot of time. Something that can be presented nicely and great for mid-week!
Panna cotta came to my mind. Panna cotta is an Italian dessert. It is nothing complicated at all. Main ingredients are milk, cream and gelatine. Of course, then you could use vanilla or elderflower, for example, to tone up the taste a little bit. To make it even nicer to look and eat, it is always served with berries, fruit coulis, caramel, or whatever you want, really. Since summer means berries, to me, I thought the red gooseberries compote would go pretty well. Though we don’t get a really nice summer this year in Britain, at least, I hope this dessert will make me feel less depressed when the sun decides to play hide and seek!
Vanilla Panna Cotta with Red Gooseberry Compote
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
4 persons
Ingredients:
For the Vanilla Panna Cotta with Red Gooseberry Compote:
For the panna cotta:
250ml milk
250ml double cream
20g sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped out
3 gelatine leaves
For the red gooseberry compote:
500g red gooseberry
80g sugar
Method:
1. Combine the milk, double cream and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Split vanilla pod and scrape seeds out into cream mixture, add to the mixture. Bring the mixture to the boil then turn off heat immediately and allow flavours to infuse for half an hour. Remove vanilla pod.
2. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5-10 minutes, until soft and floppy, then squeeze out excess water. Reheat cream mixture to warm, add gelatine and stir well until dissolved. Pour the mixture into 4 small moulds, such as ramekins. Then, leave to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, put in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours, until set.
4. To make the compote, put the red gooseberries in a pan with the sugar and 50ml of water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until soft. Leave to cool completely and chill.
5. To turn out the panna cottas, dip each mould very briefly in hot water for a few seconds – then turn upside down on to a serving plate and give it a shake. Run a knife around the edge if necessary. Serve with gooseberry compote.
WOW, red gooseberries?!! I haven’t seen those before and you seem to be having all the luck finding interesting produce in M&S like this and the flower salad. 🙂 Do they taste different from the green ones? Lovely presentation as always.
Well, not every time! I said to myself that I was lucky to saw these at M&S! Usually you have to go to farmers’ market. Try bigger M&S, I am sure they have the flower salad and gooseberry.
They taste the same from the green ones. 🙂
Oh, marvelous! This panna cotta must taste just divine.
I’ve been craving gooseberries lately. Here, the 250g cost a fortune… My English grandparents always picked tons of them in their garden.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks my dear.
Actually, I don’t remember how much I paid, I think it wasn’t cheap. Could be the reason that the gooseberry season is short.
Oh wow, it’s nice to have gooseberry picked straight from the garden!!
I haven’t seen these berries in Singapore. Maybe it’s time to look out for them. The panna cotta looks heaven!! I can eat non-stop.
Thanks LK. Yeah, try to check out these. Before I came to the UK, I didn’t know gooseberry!!
I’ve been looking for the red variety but have not run across them yet. Love the idea of this compote with your gorgeous panna cotta 🙂
Thank you for dropping by! I don’t know if the red ones are rare as I don’t usually see them but the green.
M&S sells fresh produce now?
I want some too… looks great 😀
Yeah, they do but all nicely packaged.. hahaha.. I think due to market competition they have to start selling more fresh produce. 🙂
God those berries are lovely! Never knew red ones exist, just goes to show how awesome is mother nature.
I got to know about gooseberry when I saw some gooseberry flavoured yogurt. Then, I started to keep my eyes opened, hoping to spot for fresh ones. I think the red ones are getting equally popular now.
So pretty..never seen red gooseberries..thanks for sharing these..perfect pairing with pannacotta!
Thanks! 🙂
Very summery colour!
Thank you Pepy!
Hi Leemei! I’ve never had red gooseberries before but they look lovely. Love panna cotta but yours even look better. Very beautiful pictures and I’m happy to find your site now! Looking forward to your future posts!
Hi Nami,
Thanks for dropping by and your sweet words! 🙂
It looks gorgeous and scrumptious ! I love panna cota! I never had red gooseberry before, wonder how it taste like.
Thanks! I love gooseberry cos it is slightly acidic and makes good compote 😉
Great job, dear. You have a knack for making simple things look so pretty. 🙂
Thanks Ju! 🙂
Beautiful Beautiful! Just a great recipe.
Thanks Kulsum.
Mmm this looks so delicious and refreshing! I love berries too — unfortunately I can’t even find green gooseberries fresh around here, much less red ones.
I think it’s quite difficult to get. I was quite lucky I guess as I believe gooseberries have short season.
Gooseberries are hard to find in Sydney. They looks gorgeous.
Yes, they are sometimes pretty hard to get and I just love them that I had to grab when I see.
Your dessert always look so gorgeous like it is out from a 5 star restaurant. the gooseberries sauce looks so yummy :P~
No.. far from 5 star! hehe..
love this dessert!! sedap!
Terima kasih Lesley! 🙂
I have not tried gooseberries – are they as tart as cranberries? Perfect doing a compote and serving aside the vanilla panna cotta.
Yeah, they are pretty tart.. it is lovely as a compote.
I don’t think I come across gooseberries before. I wonder how come we can’t get it here. I too like berries in my dessert.
Hmm.. the season is pretty short, I don’t know if it is something very common in England.
I love all kinds of berries too. Your beautiful pics make me craving for some desserts with berries. Hmmm…..
eheh.. I just tend to eat so much of berries during summer.
Panna cotta is one of my favorite dessert…I always order wherever I find it 🙂 Yours look so creamy and so beautiful with the gooseberries.
Hope you are having a great week 🙂
Yeah, one of my favourites too. Thanks for your sweet words.
new looks hey, its cool…
never heard of gooseberries, its gorgeous photograph!
Thanks Ira!
Thanks for commenting on my blog Lee Mei! I have yet to try panna cotta and your recipe looks doable 🙂
It’s nice to know you Kiran. Have a go and let me know!
Ciao Leemei, it’s nice to hear from you again! You even wrote in Italian! :))
I haven’t been blogging much lately because I’ve been studying for my university exam all summer! My husband and I have also traveled quite a bit in Italy, visiting friends and eating good food. London is always amazing, I came back in May for the concert of Eric Clapton. How was your holiday? Panna cotta looks delicious in your beautiful pictures as always. Thanks for dropping by, your comment is encouraging me to post again :)) Sabrina
Ciao Sabrina. It’s great to hear from you again! You sound really busy, I am sure you did well in your exam with all the effort you put! My holiday was great and I will be off again soon as my family is coming over. Thank you for your kind comment, Panna Cotta is always my favourite dessert. 🙂
I hope to see you blogging again soon!