The virtue of most panna cotta is their delicate, milky taste, often with a subtlety bordering on neutrality. Their simplicity can be a soothing panacea after a heavy, multi-course meal, though no one expects to be wowed in the intensity-of-flavor department.
This panna cotta is something different entirely. Infused with toasted sesame oil and black sesame seeds, then topped with a glistening layer of palm sugar gelee, it’s potent and nutty, smoky and exotic, and about as far from subtle as anything made with sesame oil ever is, in a very good way.
If you are pressed for time or can’t find palm sugar (which is made from the sap of several varieties of palm tree), you can skip the gelee. Just serve the panna cottas with sweet sherry or a golden dessert wine and revel in its glorious richness.
Black Sesame Panna Cotta with Palm Sugar Wine Gelee
Serves 6
2 teaspoons toasted (Asian) sesame oil
3 tablespoons black (or white) sesame seeds, more for sprinkling
3 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
¼ cup white wine
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons palm sugar (or dark brown sugar though it’s not as good)
Equipment: six 4-ounce ramekins
- To make the panna cotta, in a large skillet over medium-low heat, warm the sesame oil with the sesame seeds and toast until fragrant, 3 minutes. Pour in the cream and turn off the heat. Allow the cream to infuse for 2 hours. Strain the infused cream through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the seeds with a spatula to extract as much flavor as possible.
- Wipe out the skillet and pour the cream back in. Warm over medium heat; stir in sugar and salt until dissolved. Place 1 tablespoon cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand for 1 minute. When the cream mixture nears a simmer, stir in gelatin mixture. Pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl filled with ice water, and stir until cool. Ladle cream into the ramekins and chill for about 6 hours, until set.
- To make the palm sugar wine gelee, place 2 tablespoons wine in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon gelatin over the wine and let soften, 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan, bring the palm sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil over high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour syrup over the gelatin and whisk to dissolve. Whisk in 2 tablespoons wine. Once the gelatin is cool, pour a ¼-inch layer over each panna cotta. Return to the fridge until set, at least 30 minutes.
- Serve panna cottas sprinkled with more sesame seeds.
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