VANILLA PANNACOTTA with POMEGRANATE SAUCE

It's official, I love pink! Whenever I go shopping, be it anything, I end up picking something pink. Usually pink is associated with 'being girly' but I don't think I am that girly to begin with. Sometimes I like the vintage look, sometimes contemporary and sometimes even bohemian! It all depends on how I feel right then. When I made this dessert, I wanted to dress it up with something colourful and bright! I searched in my refrigerator for fruits and I found apples, oranges, banana's and a pomegranate.

Apple sauce? No way! Orange sauce? Yes! So I grabbed the bag of oranges dreaming of my Orange-Blackberry sauce I made last summer to go with my My Fair Lady Pudding.Sadly most of them were beginning to rot! Then all I was left with were banana's and a pomegranate. I  have never heard of a banana sauce nor pomegranate sauce before but I chose the latter because of it colour and because it's one of my favourite fruit! So pomegranate sauce, it is!

We usually have a dessert almost after every meal, except brekky. It need not be anything elaborate, even a piece of Chocolate & Cashewnut Fudge or a Simple Cherry Crumble  would do...but we need something sweet. So that gives me the excuse of stocking up almost once in 3 days and I don't complain about it! :)

Pannacotta in Italian means 'cooked cream'.This dessert is generally from the Nothern Italian region of Piemonte,although it is eaten all over Italy and is usually served with wild berries,chocolate sauce or fruit coulis -source Wikipedia

I have never made a Pannacotta before but when I tasted it in Napa Valley, California,I knew I had to try it at home sometime. It was such an easy thing and hardly takes anytime! So if any of you haven't tried this delicious creamy dessert at home before, try it now...or else you are really missing out on certain good things in life :) This is one of those desserts which you can make in less than 10 mins, that is, the active cooking time.

VANILLA PANNACOTTA with POMEGRANATE SAUCE
Recipe credits
For Pannacotta- Finla of My Kitchen Treasures
For Sauce - Your's truly
Ingredients:
For Pannacotta:
1c milk
1c heavy cream
1/2 c granulated sugar
3 tsp powdered gelatin
2tsp water
2tsp vanilla extract


For Pomegranate sauce:
1/2 a large pomegranate, seeds only
2tsp cornflour/cornstarch
1/4 c water
Sugar to taste

Method:
For Pannacotta:
Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water and let it bloom for 5 mins. Meanwhile get the other things ready.
Mix the milk,cream & sugar in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.Switch off the flame.
Melt the gelatin in the microwave oven for 12 seconds. Stir well.
Add the vanilla extract and melted gelatin into the milk -cream mixture and stir well.
Pour into ramekins or any other glass bowls (it's easy to release) and let it set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours.


For Pomegranate sauce:
Puree the pomegranate seeds.
Add water, sugar to taste and the puree in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add in the cornstarch and let the sauce thicken.
Once it's thickened slightly, take off the flame and let it cool completely.

Serving suggestion:
You can demould the dessert by dipping the bowls in hot water for less than a minute. The dessert will easily slide out of the bowl,onto a serving plate.
Pour the sauce over it and sprinkle some pomegranate seeds and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Verdict: Deliciously creamy smooth dessert with a slight tang from the beautiful sauce.You must serve these in small quantities as they are quite rich. A must have for my party menu next time on! :)

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Happy Friday!