project: vegan panna cotta

EN It's been awhile since I have made this Italian dessert called panna cotta that literally means 'cooked cream' in Italian. I love eating it because 1. it's a dessert (always the best) and 2. it's creamy and melts in your mouth when made properly. But I've stopped eating it because this desserts has a jelly agency to be shaped and set like a pudding and usually the jelly agency for that is gelatine. I'm a pescotarian which means I don't eat meat except seafood and gelatine comes from animal (pig) bones. Luckily we have a plant based alternative because Mother Nature rocks and so I've replaced gelatine with... agar-agar! Agar-agar comes from seaweed and popular use in Asian countries. Thanks to that I was able to make my beloved panna cotta again and with todays recipe it's possible to make it vegan too.

NL Het is alweer een tijd geleden dat ik deze Italiaanse dessert panna cotta maakte wat 'gekookt room' betekent. Ik ben dol op dit gerecht want 1. het is een toetje (altijd goed) en 2. het is zo romig en smelt op je tong wanneer 't goed is gemaakt. Maar toch heb ik panna cotta allang niet meer op want het bevat namelijk een gel vormende substantie zodat panna cotta recht op blijft staan. Deze gel vormende substantie is vaak gelatine en aangezien ik een pescatariër bent en geen vlees eet geldt het dus ook voor gelatine. Deze worden namelijk van dieren botten gemaakt. Gelukkig bestaan er plantaardige alternatieven en heb ik de gelatine vervangen met agar-agar! Agar-agar komt van zeewier en populair gebruik in vele Aziatische landen. Dankzij agar-agar kon ik weer panna cotta maken en met 't recept van vandaag is hij ook nog eens vegan!

recipe adapted from cookbook `De Vegetarische Slager - Het Kookboek`

ingredients

400 ml coconutmilk/almond milk/oatmilk 1 ts. agaragar + 2 tbsp. water 3-5 tbsp. sugar (or agave syrup/stevia/unrefined cane sugar) optional: fresh fruit

tips & tricks

Grab a sharp and thin knife and run along the edge of the panna cotta. Or you can place the panna cotta in warm water so that the panna cotta melts and loosen up.

garlic panna cotta

(hehe)

Here`s a little joke that you can pull off that might cause some confusing with your dessert-guests. Serve the mangosteen on top of the panna cotta and tell them you`ve made a garlic panna cotta.

the steps

1. In a saucepan bring the vegan milk up to boil on low fire. Meanwhile stir and dissolve the agaragar with the water first. Then add it to the boiled up vegan milk and let it cook until thickens. Stir occasionally! 2.Add the sugar and combine well. It should have a thickness of yogurt. 3. Pour the panna cotta mixture in glasses/silicon moulds and let it set aside first + covered before chilling it for at least an hour in the fridge serving tips You can leave the panna cotta in the moulds but you can of course unmould it! Do this by running a knife along the edge carefully or let it sit on a tray with warm water so that the outside of the panna cotta melts a bit and loosens. Next you can decorate with fresh fruit, cream or chocolate! You can make this panna cotta a day beforehand for ease.

#vegan