Panna Cotta

 

Panna cotta is one of the easiest things I've made but it makes a huge impact! The one above is topped with salted caramel sauce (I got this one in a gift basket) and an ungodly amount of caviar. But you can top it with just jam, fresh berries, macerated fruit or other items!

Panna Cotta
From Epicurious

1 7g packet unflavored gelatin (2 1/2 tsp)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half-and-half

1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Sprinkle unflavored gelatin evenly over 2 Tbsp cold water in a very small saucepan; let stand to soften (about 1 minute). Heat gelatin mixture over low heat until gelatin powder is dissolved; remove pan from heat.

Bring heavy cream, half-and-half, and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, stirring often. Remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla extract (use a rubber spatula to get everything!). 

Divide cream mixture among ramekins and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate ramekins (covered with plastic wrap) at least 4 hours or overnight.

Passion Fruit Mousse

 

We have a HUGE passionfruit vine in our backyard and it goes crazy throughout the year. I actually feel bad when I end up throwing some of them away because I know they're so expensive at the market. So I found this recipe for passion fruit mousse and I try to make it as often as I can. It needs a ton of passion fruit (like 20-25 of them, though you can use store-bought unsweetened passionfruit juice concentrate as well).

If you're using fresh passion fruit, prepare your 1 cup for the mousse by blitzing the pulp for a few seconds in a blender or Nutribullet. This loosens the membranes, which cling all the seeds together. Once blitzed, you can pass it through a sieve to get the juice. Use the back of a spoon to rub the seeds and push out as much juice as you can through the sieve. You should be left with a scoop-able spoonful of almost-dry black seeds once you're done. I did this in a few batches with the sieve directly on top of the measuring cup.

You'll have some bits of broken up seeds (which is totally OK by me) but if you're totally not into that, you can skip the blending and just push as much juice through the sieve as you can.

Passion Fruit Mousse

Adapted from Olivia's Cuisine

1 1/3 cups (290g) heavy cream, cold
1 can (397g) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (265g) passion fruit pulp or unsweetened juice concentrate

1/3 cup fresh passion fruit pulp (with seeds)
3 Tbsp granulated sugar

Blend together the cream, condensed milk and passion fruit pulp in a blender for 3 minutes. Pour into dessert cups or ramekins (or small deli containers, as shown above). Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish with passion fruit topping; directions below).

In a small pan over medium-low hear, cook together the fresh passion fruit pulp and sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook until topping thickens, about 2-3 minutes. Spoon evenly over the top of the passion fruit mousse. Cool to room temperature before topping mousse.

Topping can be made ahead of time and then refrigerated until needed. 

Crispy Chickpeas, Summery Squashes, Garlic Yogurt, Herbs

There is a lot going on in the world right now. In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the police brutality/violence that senselessly killed George Floyd has taken the world by storm. Protests against systemic racism abound in the streets, which are long overdue - both from people around us and from law enforcement and government.

The only thing we can hope is that real change will come about from this. I've already donated to the ACLU and am researching other organizations to donate to as well, so we can do our part to push this movement forward.

Crispy Chickpeas, Summery Squashes, Garlic Yogurt, Herbs
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 2

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 large garlic clove, grated
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, zested and then halved
2 small summer squash, thinly sliced (or zucchini, or both)
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint, basil, parsley, or a mix

Pat chickpeas dry on a few layers of paper towels, making sure you roll them around. I generally do this early and leave the sitting out so they can additionally air-dry. Stir together garlic, yogurt, and a couple pinches of salt. Spread to cover most of bottom of two plates.

Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas and cook until golden and crispy, stirring to ensure they color evenly, about 7-8 minutes. Transfer them to a paper towel to drain briefly, then season while hot with lemon zest, sea salt, and pepper.

Heat the last tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high in the same pan. Add the squash/zucchini and leave it there until browned underneath (it takes a few minutes), turning occasionally and repeating the don’t-move-until-browned pause until the squash/zucchini is tender. Season well with salt.

Slide zucchini onto prepared yogurt. Drizzle hot squash/zucchini with lemon. Distribute half of chickpeas on top of each squash/zucchini portion. Finish with a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Doesn't this salad look incredible? Am I tooting my own horn? Does it just scream "springtime" when you look at it? Whatever the answer to these questions are, let me assure you that this salad is the epitome of spring flavors at their best. I couldn't stop photographing it and M couldn't stop eating it, which was pretty surprising.

It does take some time to make, since you have to remove the strings from and then slice up all the sugar snap peas but I find it pretty therapeutic. Slice them in thirds the long way or at the diagonal and you'll get this cool slivered-but-kinda-fancy look.

I took inspiration from a BonAppetit article called "Which Trendy Spring Vegetable Are You?" and I was like "M, we need to go to the farmers market RIGHT NOW!" ... and luckily for him (and his stomach), he decided to oblige. Aside from the time spent on slicing the sugar snap peas, this dish comes together really quickly, making it a perfect weeknight side.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 2

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (whole or 2%)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, grated
3/4 lb sugar snap peas
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest

Stir together yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and some salt until smooth and sauce-like. Adjust for seasoning. Spoon and smooth onto the bottom of a plate.

In a separate bowl, mix together sugar snap peas, lemon zest, olive oil and some salt (fancy flaky salt, if you have it). Combine thoroughly and then arrange on top of the yogurt. Serve with anything! We ate it with grilled chicken but it would be a good side dish for any protein, or just on its own when the days are hot.