Mother Nature why you gotta be so dramatic?  That's what I think (in a good way) when I look at blood oranges, with their colors that range from dark & sultry to bright & jewel-toned. They are about as sexy as it gets, fruit-wise, during the pretty bleak winters here in the northern hemisphere.  In this recipe, I put a little twist on a classic mild and creamy panna cotta by serving it with fresh blood orange segments and a drizzle of blood orange syrup spiked with Campari, an apéritif that echos the sweet and bitter notes of the blood orange.  I garnished them with bits of candied ginger and savoiardi (aka lady fingers) for additional interest and texture. You can omit the Campari in the syrup if you don't have it or don't want to use alcohol - I do that with the children's portions and it's still got a lot going on.  Afterall, the blood orange is really the superstar in this recipe!

The awesome thing about panna cotta is that it is super easy to make and can be made up to two days in advance.  You can either serve it straight from your vessel of choice such as a ramekin, wine or martini glass or small teacups.  Alternatively you can unmold and invert it onto a dish.  I find unmolding can be tricky business (even with a brush of oil) so I avoid it altogether by chilling and serving them straight out of lovely little sake or tea cups. 

Panna Cotta with Blood Orange Campari Syrup

Serves 8.

INGREDIENTS

For the Panna Cotta (recipe from David Lebovitz)

4 C (1L) heavy cream (or half-and-half)
1/2 C (100g) granulated sugar
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise
2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 tsp) *
6 tbsp (90ml) cold water

*To make Panna Cotta with sheet gelatin: Soften 25g (approximately six sheets) in a liter of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. Wring the sheets out and stir them into the warm Panna Cotta mixture in step # 4, until dissolved.

For the Blood Orange Campari Syrup

1 tsp blood orange zest
1 C blood orange juice, freshly squeezed from about 3 fruits
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/8 C Campari (can be omitted for alcohol-free version)

Garnish for serving

Small handful of candied ginger, chopped into very small cubes
8 savoiardi (aka lady fingers) or other dry biscuit like biscotti

METHOD

Prepare the panna cotta

1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  (If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the bean into the cream and add the bean pod. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bean then rewarm the mixture before continuing.)

2. Lightly oil eight custard cups with a neutral-tasting oil.  {Added by SPH:  Omit this step if you don't plan to unmold it for serving}

3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

5. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours but I let them stand at least four hours. (Judy told me American refrigerators are colder than European ones. )

If you’re pressed for time, pour the Panna Cotta mixture into wine goblets so you can serve them in the glasses, without unmolding.

6. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate, and garnish as desired.

Prepare the Blood Orange Campari syrup

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add in the blood orange juice, zest, sugar and Campari (if using). Stir until all the sugar is dissolved and bring the mixture to a boil.  Lower the heat so the syrup can simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes or until the mixture has reduced by about half and is a thick syrupy consistency.

To Garnish & Serve

Pour slightly warm syrup over the chilled panna cotta.  Garnish with candied ginger bits and one savoiardi each (half of it crumbled with fingertips over the panna cotta, the other half on the side for nibbling).

Enjoy! xx

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