Basil Panna Cotta with Orange Blossom-Macerated Strawberries

Summer desserts are the best desserts

Ciao from Milano! I’m here for a few days before heading to Paris, where I’ll be cooking a dinner for On Running during fashion week. It’s hot as hell here, and I’ve been eating well. Sharing this recipe while in Italy feels fitting.

Panna cotta was something I didn’t try until just a few years ago. It was a texture and dessert I probably would have run away from as a child - If it didn’t have chocolate in it and wasn’t ice cream adjacent, I didn’t want it.

But luckily I grew out of my picky ways and now adore the creamy, pudding-like texture of this dessert. I love to keep it simple and fresh with the flavor combinations, ensuring the natural milky flavor shines through.

I made this particular version recently for a dinner I did with Salt + Stone a month or so ago. Basil has such a delicate, minty-sweet flavor with a peppery kick that I find perfect for desserts. I love the combination of basil and strawberries. It feels like quintessential summer to me.

Recipe Notes:

They key to the bright green color for this panna cotta is blanching and shocking A LOT of basil before incorporating it into the cream. This ensures the color doesn’t dull when being blended.

Classically, in Italy, this dessert is made with only fresh cream. Though the fat content of their fresh cream is around 25%, while heavy cream in the US is around 35%. Therefore, I like to cut it with a little bit of whole milk to ensure better texture. The less fat, the softer the panna cotta will be.

Panna cotta is typically placed in a mold to set and unmolded before serving. If this feels intimidating, I think it’s as chic to set the panna cotta in some nice glassware, like I did here. It also ensures any panna cotta topping won’t be lost when you go for a bite!

Basil Panna Cotta with Macerated Strawberries

Makes 6