Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Nasturtiums as Garnish

The sun came out early today. The wind was blowing like mad. We decided to hike around Cape Perpetua. There were white caps out in the ocean and the tall pines around us were softly creaking back and forth. I love the feeling of the fresh sea air against my face.

In the classification of edible flowers I found that nasturtiums are the easiest to grow. They grow very fast and can be great climbers. The leaves, seed pods and flowers are all edible. The flavor is slightly peppery and the leaves even more so. I’m always trying to find new ways to use them. In this recipe; I used the flowers as a garnish.

Since this was my first time making any type of custardy type dessert I decided to follow one of Ina Garten’s recipes. They always seem to turn out perfect. The flavor was delicious…… but if you look closely at the sides of the my panna cotta it is not real smooth. Maybe I did not dissolve the gelatin or sugar enough? I thought I did. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions please let me know………..

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (divided)
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon (divided)
6 nasturtiums (for garnish)

To prepare:

To dissolve gelatin, add gelatin and water together in a small bowl; stir and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 of the cream, yogurt, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. In a small saucepan heat remaining 3/4 cup of cream and 1/3 cup of sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (Do not let boil) Remove from heat add gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve.

Pour the hot cream gelatin mixture into the cold creamy-yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Pour into 6 4-ounce ramekins and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When chilled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To serve:

Run a small knife around each dessert and dip the bottom of each ramekin in a bowl of hot water. Invert onto individual serving plates. Add garnish. Enjoy.

Recipe has been slightly adapted from Ina Garten from the Food Network.