This melon panna cotta was born by accident and necessity. Now I tell you.
From the weekly trip to the local market for fruit and veg shopping haul, I returned with a sweet white onion that, by itself, weighs a kilogram, lots of tomatoes since, at last, I can eat them again, and then a tiny piece of watermelon, dark green zucchini, long and thin, and a handful of bolognese zucchini, light green and bellied.
Also, a couple of kilograms of potatoes, at home they seem never enough, a bunch of basil and parsley, a cantaloupe, a handful of figs, and the plums I will use to make a few bottles of my homemade plum ketchup.
I couldn’t resist, so I bought some piadina bread to replace bread in this time of closed ovens and bakers on vacation. Around Ferragosto, in Italy, it’s like that. It can be hard to find stores and eateries open. Everything is closed “per ferie”.
However, we are set with fruit and vegetable supplies for the week.
Once home, I cut the watermelon into pieces, removed the seeds, and put it in the refrigerator, ready to be eaten. As I put away my other purchases, I think about the week’s recipes. Only the cantaloupe still remains to be placed in the fruit drawer.
The melon
I was thinking of using it for a prosciutto crudo and melon risotto. A recipe I first made for my husband years ago, amidst a thousand doubts on his part, and which he now asks me for every year.
This melon panna cotta was, therefore, born by accident.
In fact, after looking at the blog home page, I realized there was a need for a dessert. You know, it’s summer, there’s a lot of produce in the garden, and we all crave fresh flavors, and then Ferragosto is just around the corner. So, I set aside the recipe I had in mind to make room for a quick and easy dessert that, I hope, will satisfy those who will make it among my readers.
I should have scheduled this post a few days ago to give you time to get the ingredients. Still, after working for years as an editor, I have discovered and admitted that I am better at scheduling other people’s content.
So here is my recipe for melon panna cotta. The ingredients are simple and seasonal, and many are already in your pantry or refrigerator.
Melon panna cotta
The recipe is classic: milk, mascarpone instead of heavy cream, sugar, gelatin (Gelatin (powdered gelatin, sheet gelatin). And then there is the sweet, floral note of melon tempered by the freshness of lemon zest.
You can serve the panna cotta without decoration or add melon slices to decorate the surface of the dessert. You can give them the color of amber to caramelize thin slices of melon in a pan with a bit of sugar for a few minutes. Finally, the melon can be cut into small cubes to put on top of the dessert or to serve on the side.
The summer color, silky texture, and inviting fragrance combine to make this simple spoon dessert elegant in its simplicity.
Panna cotta is a typical Italian dessert found anywhere along the boot.
Yet. Yet this is the first panna cotta recipe I have posted on the blog and the second panna cotta I have made in a short time, a layer panna cotta dessert consisting of cream, apricot, and chocolate.
The fact that no panna cotta recipe has so far appeared on the blog reveals, on my part, a certain lack of love for this spoon-filled dessert. Until now.
The problem between me and panna cotta has always been related to its consistency since it is a dessert that is as easy to make as it is to get wrong. Throughout a lifetime, I have tasted dozens of panna cottas that had too much gelatin and, for that reason, were chunks of glue in a solid state.
Since the risk of eating a bad panna cotta is real and frequent, I stopped eating it without, at the same time, ever deciding to make it myself until this summer, when, in the gastronomic journey I’ve been on for a few years through the blog and, now, the newsletter, it was evidently time for melon panna cotta.
A delicious panna cotta has a softly creamy texture, is smooth and lump-free, and is balanced in taste. Incidentally, sugar, as the gelatin sheets, contributes to making panna cotta a solid glue jar, so it’s best to do it sparingly.
Buon Ferragosto, Monica
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Melon panna cotta
Equipment
- rectangular mold, 18x8cm
Ingredients
- 200 g of orange melon pulp
- 10 g of gelatin sheets
- 250 g of mascarpone cheese, out of the refrigerator
- 130 g of icing sugar
- 1/2 lemon, grated zest
- 200 ml of milk
Instructions
- After removing the seeds and outer peel, cut the melon flesh into pieces, blend the flesh in the blender until smooth and watery, and set aside.
- Bloom the gelatin: soak the gelatin leaves in a waterbowl until softened. This operation usually takes 10 minutes.
- Whisk the softened mascarpone cheese out of the refrigerator in a bowl with the powdered sugar and grated lemon zest. Then, set aside.
- Pour the milk and melon smoothie into a pot, and when it comes to a boil, turn it off.
- Now, pour the mixture over the mascarpone and stir with a spatula to incorporate it so there are no lumps. If needed, use electric whips.
- Dress the mold with plastic film.
- Pour the panna cotta into the mold, sealing the surface of the cake with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, then store in the refrigerator until the next day.
- To unmold the panna cotta, place the serving plate on the mold and invert the cake onto the plate. Discard the foil and decorate.
Tips
- Prepare the cake in advance, preferably the day before.
- Use the mold of your choice or even single-portion molds.
- Store in the refrigerator for a few days.
- If you cut the panna cotta into slices, you can freeze it portioned and store it for up to a month.
