panna cotta with strawberries

I went to a strawberry event at one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco, Cotogna in North Beach. There were appetizers with strawberries, cocktails with strawberries, savory dishes with strawberries, and of course dessert…with strawberries. Of all the strawberry facts I learned that night, this is my favorite: there are 200 seeds on each berry. What I want to know is, who counted?!

ingredients

1 cup plain yogurt
2  tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
1/2 cup whipped crème fraiche
4 amaretto cookies, crushed
8 perfectly ripe strawberries, sliced thinly

directions

Combine half the yogurt and sugar in a small pan over medium-low heat and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the gelatin and remove from heat. Whisk remaining yogurt and sugar in a metal bowl then whisk in the warm mixture. Place bowl over ice water and whisk to cool, stirring constantly. Fold in the whipped crème fraîche and pour into 4 ramekins or custard cups and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.

Remove panna cotta from refrigerator just before serving and sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Make concentric circles on top with the berries.

note: recipe easily doubles or triples.

Courtesy of Michael Tusk, Cotogna – San Francisco