Orange Panna Cotta With Saffron and Star Anise
By: Recipe, Interrupted
Published: Monday, February 22, 2010 - 6:49pm

Ingredients




1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup orange juice
large pinch of saffron, crumbled

1 star anise
1 3/4 cups half-and-half
 cup granulated sugar
2 clementines
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Preparation

1 Put 1 tablespoon of water into a small dish and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Set it aside and let it soften. 2 In a small saucepan, heat the orange juice, saffron, and star anise over low heat and reduce by one half, about 5-10 minutes. 3 In a separate saucepan, heat the half-and-half and sugar together until the sugar dissolves and the half-and-half is hot (but not boiling), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 4 Strain the reduced orange juice mixture and add it to the half-and-half mixture. 5 Stir in the softened gelatin until it is completely dissolved. 6 Distribute the liquid into four 4-ounce ramekins. When they cool down to room temperature, cover the ramekins with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 6 hours. 7 About 30 minutes before serving, segment the clementines to remove the outer membranes. Pour the Grand Marnier over them and let them sit at room temperature. 8 Invert the ramekins onto small plates. To loosen up the panna cotta and get it to slide out of the ramekin, it may help to warm up the ramekin in a bath of hot water for a couple of seconds and/or run a very thin, small spatula or knife around the edge of the panna cotta. 9 Garnish the panna cotta with the clementine segments and a drizzling of the Grand Marnier.

About


This dessert is deceiving. The reduced orange juice and saffron add such a beautiful custardy color to this panna cotta that it is hard to believe there are no eggs in it. Creamy and scented with fragrant spices, it looks and tastes like a refined treat that involves a lot of work and skill. The truth is, the preparation takes hardly any time at all, you just have to give the gelatin about 6 hours to set. And if you can make Jell-o, you've got all the skills required.
Always on the lookout for a shortcut, I tried sprinkling the gelatin directly into the hot orange and half-and-half mixture. It didn't work. The pudding I ended up with was not fully set and had tapioca-like lumps in it. So now I take the extra 3 seconds and soften the gelatin in a bit of water first.