Heavenly Pannacotta with Violets (and homemade ricotta!)

I used to have this weird fear of making my own pannacotta. I remember having an amazing vanilla bean pannacotta at an Italian Restaurant in Melbourne years ago and for a year after that my brother and I went on a long mission to recreate this pannacotta at home. We bought the vanilla beans and the gelatin leaves and tried countless recipes, but they never turned out right. They were either too hard, too soft, too creamy or too watery. And then we just got over it and moved on. I even stopped ordering pannacotta in restaurants because it could no longer live up to my ridiculously high dreamed-up expectations of the dish.

For the last month or so I've been itching to try making my own homemade ricotta. I managed to get a hold of some cheesecloth and I finally got around to doing it the other day. I could not believe how ridiculously easy it was. And so yummy! Being the first experimental batch, most of it got eaten on its own, or with slices of apple and drizzled with honey and cinnamon. I planned to make some of Bill's ricotta hotcakes, but then I came across a recipe called 'Heavenly Pannacotta'. It just sounded too lovely to resist.

I cheated a little with the recipe, since I only had powdered gelatin. But the texture turned out just right, there was just enough gelatin to hold the pannacotta together with a nice wobble. The mixture melts in your mouth and some crystallised violets on top add some lovely colour and a sweet floral flavour. I didn't have any moulds so I used a cupcake tin, which worked okay but it was a b%tch to unmould! I wouldn't recommend it.

Heavenly Pannacotta
(from Gina DePalma's Dolce Italiano)

1 cup fresh sheep's milk ricotta or whole cow's milk ricotta (see below for recipe)
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 or 1 vanilla bean (I used 1 because it seemed silly to just use half, more vanilla I say!)
1 packet powdered gelatin (I used 2 1/2 tsp, the original recipe calls for 4 sheets of gelatin)
crystallised violets to decorate

Place the ricotta and 1/2 cup milk in a medium bowl and whisk vigorously until the ricotta is smooth and lump free. Place the heavy cream and sugar in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean with the flat side of a small knife and add them to the pan along with the bean. Place the mixture over medium heat and bring just to the boiling point, whisking occasionally.

In the meantime, whisk the gelatin into the remaining 1/2 cup milk and set aside. When the cream mixture has scalded, turn off the heat. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup milk and gelatin mixture. Gradually pour the liquid into the bowl with the ricotta, whisking constantly until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the vanilla bean an strain the mixture through a chinois or fine-meshed sieve. Divide the panna cotta among 6 dessert glasses and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. When you are ready to serve, sprinkle crystallised violets on top.

Homemade Ricotta
(from Epicurious)

Yield: Makes about 2 cups
2L full cream milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Special equipment: large sieve, fine-mesh cheesecloth

Line a large sieve with a layer of heavy-duty (fine-mesh) cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Slowly bring milk, cream, and salt to a rolling boil in a 5-6L heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.

Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain 1 hour. After discarding the liquid, chill the ricotta, covered; it will keep in the refrigerator 2 days.