Lemongrass Panna Cotta

When did dairy get so expensive?

I aimed to make a panna cotta last night and went to the grocery store to pick up some heavy cream. I try very hard to buy organic dairy, and I happened to look at this chart of dairy ratings yesterday. It amazed me when I realized that a pint of Organic Valley cream costs a dollar more than an entire panna cotta dessert from Trader Joe’s. Well, of course my portion is for four people, but it put things into perspective. Trader Joe’s is notoriously secretive about their business practices anyway, so it’s hard to figure out how they can price things so cheaply.

Sugar melting in cream

My latest experiment was with lemongrass. Lemongrass panna cotta, to be exact. I thought it would be neat to try lemongrass in a dessert instead of in Thai food, which is the only way I’ve had it. I based this off of the recipe from the splendid table, which adjustments for a much smaller portion.

Lemongrass Panna Cotta (serves 4)

1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, and put in cheesecloth bag

Mix water with gelatin in small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes.

Warm cream, sugar, and lemongrass on stove until sugar dissolves and cream is steaming, but not boiling. Add gelatin mixture and dissolve. Take off heat and let cool 5 minutes. Fish out the lemongrass bag.

Place sour cream in medium bowl. Slowly whip cream into sour cream and stir until smooth.

Pour into 4 ramekins and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until quite firm. To serve, drizzle with fruit syrup of your choice!