Rich & Creamy Meet Tart & Tangy: Panna Cotta with Fresh Wild Berry Sauce

An easy dessert to make that is always a crowd-pleaser is panna cotta with fresh picked wild berries - the combination of the rich, creamy, vanilla panna cotta with with tart & tangy berry sauce drizzled atop is a perfect match.

Coming home the other day as we were making our way over the hills towards Piobbico, Jason shouted - BERRIES! And pulled over right there on the side of the road. We preceded to pick as many frutti di bosco (fruits of the woods) as possible & knew immediately what was for dessert!

Panna Cotta with Fresh Berry Sauce
Panna cotta con frutta di bosco

Ingredients for Panna Cotta
2 sheets of gelatin
scant 1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise

Fill a bowl with water, add the gelatin and let is soak. Pour milk into a pan & bring to just below simmering, then remove the pan from the heat. Do NOT let it boil. Drain & squeeze out the gelatin & add the milk. Pour the cream into another pan, add the sugar and vanilla bean and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, remove the vanilla bean and stir in the milk mixture.

You can put the mixture into any kind of ramekin, mold, cup, you like. Rinse your 'glass' in ice-cold water, shaking out any excess water & fill with the milk mixture. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours until set (at least 3-4 hours). Turn out onto a serving dish & serve with fruit sauce or chocolate sauce.

Ingredients for Berry Sauce
1 pint of your favorite berries or cherries
1/4 cup or less sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
1/4 cup of water
optional - mint, lemon juice, lemon zest, etc.

Put the berries, sugar & water in a pot & simmer for 15-20 minutes until the fruit breaks down & forms a syrup.

Drizzle over the top of the panna cotta once on the serving plate.