Smoked Vanilla Bean Panna...Smoked Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Blackberry-Rosemary Fluid Gel

An elegant, multi-textured modern dessert featuring a velvety, lightly smoked vanilla panna cotta, a vibrant blackberry-rosemary fluid gel, and an airy microwave pistachio sponge cake.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Bloom the gelatin sheets in a bowl of ice-cold water for 5 to 10 minutes until softened.

2. 02

   In a saucepan, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, 50g of caster sugar, and the scraped vanilla bean seeds and pod. Warm over medium heat until it just reaches a gentle simmer, then remove from heat. Stir in the liquid smoke and let steep for 10 minutes.

3. 03

   Squeeze excess water from the bloomed gelatin. Whisk the gelatin into the warm cream mixture until fully dissolved. Strain through a fine-mesh chinois into a measuring jug. Pour into silicone half-sphere molds and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until completely set.

4. 04

   To make the fluid gel, combine the blackberries, 50ml of water, the rosemary sprig, and the remaining 30g of sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, gently mashing the berries. Strain through cheesecloth to extract a clear, vibrant purple juice.

5. 05

   Measure 150ml of the blackberry juice back into a clean saucepan. Whisk in the agar-agar powder and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Pour the mixture onto a flat tray and refrigerate until it sets into a firm sheet (approx. 20 minutes).

6. 06

   Chop the set blackberry sheet and transfer it to a high-speed blender. Add the lemon juice and blend on high speed until a perfectly smooth, glossy fluid gel forms. Transfer to a piping bag and chill.

7. 07

   For the pistachio sponge, whisk the egg whites, pistachio paste, and flour together in a bowl until completely smooth. Strain the mixture to remove any lumps and pour into an ISI Whippersiphon charged with two N2O charger bulbs. Shake vigorously.

8. 08

   Cut three small slits in the bottom of paper cups. Express the pistachio foam into the cups to fill them halfway. Microwave each cup individually on high for 40 seconds. Let cool inverted, then tear into organic, rustic sponge pieces.

9. 09

   To serve, carefully unmold a panna cotta onto the center of a chilled plate. Artfully pipe dots of the blackberry-rosemary fluid gel around the base. Nestle pieces of the vibrant green pistachio sponge and fresh halved blackberries around the panna cotta, and garnish with micro-mint and edible flowers.