Cooking by Proxy: TSIR #1 - cardamom-almond panna cotta

I'm just not that girl. You know the one...the girl who's happiest eating out nightly, the one with a shopping trolley filled with factory-made frozen entrees, the one who'd prefer that someone else do all the cooking.

By default I almost became that girl--my rather sudden reacquaintanceship with concrete last week has pretty much left me unable to stand, unaided, for any real length of time.

For the first few days I survived on takeaway from two nearby restaurants--a pretty good Vietnamese place and Harvey's (when did Harvey's get rid of their apple pies? anyone?). Fine for a couple of days, but not fine for a couple of months.

Then I had an idea.

I call it "cooking by proxy."

The exbf calls it "Jasmine sits in a chair and tells me what to do and how to do it."

Well...yeah.

The exbf is a good cook--he makes my most favourite shepherd's pie on this planet. He makes a really good chilli and a yummy stirfry. (And before you ask, The Fussy Eater will have his turn at being my kitchen helper...just not quite yet (busy with a work project)).

We're currently working things out...I'm learning that there are different methods to mincing garlic and he's learning that my knives are very, very sharp...all-in-all, a win-win situation.

Anyway...

This is my first cooking by proxy post...which is also this month's cardamom post...which is also my contribution to Barbara's The Spice Is Right foodblogging event (how's that for multitasking?).

This particular experiment is called cardamom-almond panna cotta.

A few weeks (months?) ago I saw a post about cardamom creme anglaise and thought about turning it into a panna cotta. Cardamom, of course is that lovely little green pod first used 2000 years ago in India--both for its medicinal and culinary properties. The cardamom I use is from my auntie's plantation in Kerala...yeah, I'm lucky that way.

I based this recipe on the one in The Silver Spoon, replacing the vanilla bean with the powdered seeds of a cardamom pod and adding some almond extract. The end result is really lovely--sweet and lightly almondy with the slightly eucalypt, bittersweet flavour added by the spice.

I must say the exbf did really well with this. He, of course, can't partake because the texture squicks him out (anything vaguely pudding-like is off his books)...which means I must commit the ultimate sacrifice and snarfle them all for my self.

This recovery thing is hard work, but someone's got to do it.

Cardamom-almond panna cotta
Ingredients
1Tbsp unflavoured gelatine powder
125mL milk
560mL heavy cream
100g castor sugar
7mL almond extract
seeds of one cardamom pod, powdered

Putting it together
Bloom the gelatine in two tablespoons of cold water.

Put sugar, cardamom and cream into a saucepan and place on the flamed hob. Over a medium-low flame, bring the mixture to a simmer while stirring constantly. Take the sweet cream off the flame and pour into a one-litre measuring jug. Stir in the milk, softened gelatine and the extract.

Pour the mixture into six individually-portioned ramekins and set in the fridge for about six hours or until set.

cheers!
jasmine

Related posts:

The Spice Is Right: Ancient Spices round-up Part I

The Spice Is Right: Ancient Spices round-up Part II

The Spice Is Right: Ancient Spices round-up Part III

tags: Cardamom Dairy Dessert The Spice is Right 1

Before the nonsense: 44 cups; 3 free coffees, 1 free doughnut
Now: 34 cups, 7 free coffees