SHF #45: Berries!

My town is surrounded by strawberry fields. We can buy the ripe, red berries nearly all year round, either from roadside stands, the farmers markets, or the local groceries. I went to the Wednesday farmers market this past week to buy a few fruits and vegetables, including some fresh strawberries, with the purpose of trying some new recipes.

The July edition of Sugar High Fridays is being hosted by Susan, of Food Blogga, my fellow blogger down the road a piece. She selected berries for the theme, and while there are many kinds of berries from which to choose, and all are delicious, strawberries are the most appropriate choice at the moment for where I live.

I decided to make another panna cotta from Camilla Saulsbury’s book, Panna Cotta. All I can say is Wow. This turned out to be one of the most luxurious and delicious desserts I have ever tasted. It is so simple to make and so beautiful in appearance, that it is going to become one of my ‘entertaining’ desserts. So, this is my submission for SHF #45: Berries!

Strawberry Daiquiri Panna Cotta

(adapted from Panna Cotta by Camilla Saulsbury)

2 ½ cups strawberries, hulled and halved (and divided)

2 tablespoons light rum

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

¾ cup heavy cream

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon finely grated lime zest

1/3 cup sour cream

1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 ½ tablespoons honey

Garnish: coarse sugar, lime wedges, freshly grated lime zest

Place 1 cup of the strawberries in a food processor and process until smooth. Pour the purée through a fine mesh strainer, pressing with a rubber spatula to extract as much purée as possible. Reserve the strained purée and discard the remains in the strainer.

Place the rum in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the rum and let stand for 5 minutes to soften.

Place cream, sugar, and lime zest in a heavy saucepan and bring to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture until dissolved. Whisk in the puréed strawberries, sour cream, and lime juice until blended.

Pour mixture into 4 margarita glasses. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours.

Gently toss the remaining 1 ¼ cups strawberries with honey. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Chill until ready to use.

Spread the coarse sugar into a wide bowl. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of each glass, then dip glass into the coarse sugar, coating the edge. Spoon the strawberries and the juices on top of each panna cotta. Garnish with lime zest.

Serves 4.

Can be doubled.

Thanks to Susan for the delicious berry theme, and thanks to Jennifer, the Domestic Goddess, for creating this event.