Pumpkin Seed Panna Cotta With Hazelnut Cream

Submitted by derMoerder

This is the third course of a three-course meal for my ICSA 14 entry. Pumpkin Sformato and Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sage Vanilla Brown Butter Sauce and Smoked Duck Breast precede this dish.

After the first two dishes were done I felt I needed a fairly light dessert, so I went with panna cotta. My issue though was how to use pumpkin. Using pumpkin purée with good old pumpkin spices would, I feel, totally overpower the milk and defeat the purpose of making panna cotta in the first place. If I was going to do that I may as well make a pumpkin flan. With that in mind I decided to just use the pumpkin seeds. They would totally work with the milk without overpowering it.

Ingredients (4 Servings)

• 1-1/2C Milk
• 1/2C Cream
• 1/2C Pumpkin Seeds
• 1Tbsp Powedered Gelatin (Or 4 Sheets leaf gelatin)
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• Tiny Tiny Bit of Vanilla Extract
• Mint Sprig for Garnish
• 1/4C Hazelnuts, Shelled
• 1/2 Recipe for Crème Anglaise

Procedure

• Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan until they smell, well... toasty.
• Grind fine in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle. Keep a tsp reserved for finishing garnish.

• Pop the hazelnuts into the oven for around ten minutes.
• Remove and roll them in a clean, dry towel to remove the skins.
• Grind fine.

• Stir the gelatin into a cup of the cold milk to bloom. You need to do this or the gelatin will not disperse evenly. It will need to sit for around five minutes or so, at least.
• Heat the remaining milk with the cream and add your pumpkin seeds and a tiny drop of vanilla. Let sit covered for fifteen minutes. We're trying to steep the flavor out of the seeds and into the dairy.
• When there is a strong pumpkin seed flavor, strain out the seeds.
• Heat the dairy back up near a boil and add the bloomed gelatin and milk. Whisk it in.
• Pour into four shaped containers or ramekins. Place in the refrigerator. They should set partially after about 30 minutes, so you can cover them and leave them in the fridge for another two hours or so until fully set.

• Now follow the recipe for crème anglaise, halving all the ingredients and with only a tiny drop of vanilla. Refrigerate.

• Run a knife gently along the edge of the panna cotta molds to loosen, then turn over on the plate and shake downward to remove from the mold.
• Pour a few Tbsp of crème anglaise around the panna cotta on the plate.
• Tilt the plate to spread out a thin layer of the crème around the panna cotta. Don't overdo it, we don't want to overhwelm the pumpkin seed flavor.
• Sprinkle a bit of pumpkin seed onto the panna cotta and some more hazelnut onto the crème around it. Garnish with a mint sprig and serve.