Olive oil panna cotta

As I mentioned in my latest post, I recently got an amazing pastry book by A. Bachour. The recipes are so inspiring I want to make every single dessert in the book.
The recipe that instantly caught my eye was an olive oil panna cotta. I would never imagine that olive oil could work in a classic dessert such as panna cotta. Since I love experimenting in my kitchen I decided to go for it.
After a taste, the whole dessert made sense. The combination of white chocolate and olive oil works surprisingly well. The olive oil jelly enhances the olive taste and gives a textural element to the soft panna cotta.
I had leftover tart dough in the fridge which came in handy for a nice crumble on top. For freshness and acidity I used grapefruit segments. You can substitute the grapefruit for any acidic fruit of your choice.
The flavors were amazing and the dessert opened my eyes to endless possibilities.

Olive oil panna cotta

(Makes about 6)

Time:

Preparation: 35min

Cooking: 10min

Baking: 10min

Setting: 5 hours or more

For the olive oil panna cotta:

• 1,5g gelatin
• 145g heavy cream
• 25g sugar
• 90g white chocolate (small pieces)
• 50g good quality olive oil

For the olive oil jelly:

• 3g gelatin
• 15g water
• 20g sugar
• 6,5g honey (or inverted sugar)
• 25g isomalt
• 50g good quality olive oil

For the crumble (will make more then needed):

• 95g icing sugar
• 250g all-purpose flour
• 150g soft butter
• 30g ground almonds
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• vanilla extract

For garnish and freshness:

• 1 grapefruit 
• white chocolate pieces
• lime zest

Making the olive oil panna cotta:

Soak gelatin in cold water, set aside.

Pour heavy cream and sugar in a small sauce pan and place on medium heat. Cook until simmering. Take off the heat and stir in the soaked gelatin. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate. Stir until melted. 

Add the olive oil and blitz with immersion blender. Pour the mixture in serving glasses and place in the fridge to set.

Making the olive oil jelly:

Soak gelatin in cold water and set aside.

Combine water, sugar, honey and isomalt. Cook until the mixture reaches 90°C (194°F). Take off the heat and add gelatin. Stir and add olive oil. 

Blitz with immersion blender until smooth. Pour a thin layer of jelly on top of the set panna cotta. Place back in the fridge to set.

Making the crumble:

Place the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) and beat until softened. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, beating just until incorporated. Add the flour and salt all at once and mix just until it forms a ball.

For this dessert you will only need about 1/4 of the pastry. You can freeze the rest of the dough.
Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Line the baking tray with parchment paper. Grate the cold dough (like cheese) evenly all over the baking sheet.

Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool completely.

Assembly:

Take the panna cotta out of the fridge. Sprinkle some of the cooled crumble on top. Segment a grapefruit and layer segments on top of the crumble. 

Sprinkle with lime zest and add a few pieces of white chocolate. Enjoy!