A few years ago, I had a life-changing encounter with a jam. It all started at a farmers’ market in Atlanta. At one of the booths sat rows of small jars of preserves. Among them was the crown jewel–the strawbanero (strawberry habanero) jam–whose flavor transcended all other jams. In the presence of habanero, the flavor of the strawberry became more concentrated and at the end of a bite, the subtle heat would come creeping in. I spread this jam on crackers with a little bit of goat cheese and oof–it was just so good.
That brings me to this week, when I saw fresh strawberries for a good price at my local grocery store. I wanted to recreate some of the flavors of that jam and tone the heat down ever so slightly for a sweet rather than savory application. And let me tell you, it was an instant success. This habanero strawberry panna cotta has silky smooth vanilla base and is topped with a roasted strawberry coulis with a slight hint of heat from the habanero. The citrusy notes of the habanero lift up the natural flavors of the strawberry, and the subtle heat adds an unexpectedly pleasant element to the dish. The creaminess of the panna cotta base also helps to balance out the slight spice from the pepper.
I urge you to set all skepticism aside and try this dessert. I served it to my partner’s family who immediately scraped the dishes clean and couldn’t stop grinning as they ate. For this recipe, I used half of a habanero pepper with the seeds removed. The sauce was not spicy but just had a very subtle heat in the background. If you really love spice and would like it to be more prominent, you could try 3/4 or a whole habanero.
Habanero strawberry panna cotta
Course: Cakes and custardsDifficulty: Quick bake6
panna cottas40
minutes50
minutesThis habanero strawberry panna cotta pairs a smooth, creamy vanilla base with an intensely flavorful roasted strawberry coulis. The habanero adds a hint of heat and citrusy notes to the strawberry coulis. Inspired by an otherworldy farmers’ market strawbanero jam, this panna cotta takes all the elements of the classic strawberries and cream that we know and love and gives them a flavorful boost.
Ingredients
- For the strawberry sauce
16 oz of strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
juice and zest of half a lemon
1/2 a habanero pepper, seeds removed
- For the panna cotta
1 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups plain whole milk yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Make the strawberries
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Quarter the strawberries and place in a large glass or ceramic baking dish. Remove the seeds from the habanero and finely dice. Add the lemon juice, sugar, and habanero to the strawberries and stir to combine.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries have broken down and the liquid is syrupy. Since we’re making a strawberry sauce and not a jam, you want to remove from the oven when there is still a fair amount of liquid, instead of when most has cooked off.
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Then pour into a blender and puree. Pour the pureed strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and refrigerate until the panna cotta is ready.
- Make the panna cotta
- Place 2 Tbsp of water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top to dissolve into the water. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the milk, heavy cream, and sugar into a medium-sized saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the cream begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and gelatin until the gelatin has dissolved.
- Strain the mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the yogurt until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain.
- Pour into ramekins, small glasses, or small coffee cups. It should make enough for 6 large panna cottas or 8 smaller ones. Let chill for at least 4-5 hours, until fully set. These can easily be made the night before and left to set overnight.
- Once the panna cottas have set, pour a layer of the strawberry sauce on top, evenly distributing across all of the panna cottas. Chill until ready to serve.
Notes
- If you only have sheet gelatin, check out this article from King Arthur Baking for details on substituting.
- This dessert has a very subtle heat from the habanero. If you’re looking for more heat, you can try using 3/4 or a whole habanero with the seeds removed.
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