Panna Cotta, a popular Italian dessert with origins from the Piedmont region, literally translates to “cooked cream”. This sweet treat of sweetened cream set with gelatin has been spotted across the globe in various forms and names, dating back to the 13th century when an almost identical version, Moos Hwit, was discovered in a Danish cookbook.
The beauty of panna cotta lies in its simplicity. It could be easily made with only three ingredients: cream, gelatin, and sugar. But being that New Mexico is one of the three states that grow pistachios in the country, I thought it would be fun to combine my love of both pistachios and panna cotta.
To begin, we peel the pistachios to make a bright green pistachio paste. This step is truly optional and really only affects the color of the panna cotta. If you don’t mind a more neutral color to the panna cotta, you don’t have to peel them.
In this recipe, I like to use cream and half and half to lighten it up. And it always amazes me how little sugar is needed for this perfectly sweetened treat. I love how panna cotta has low-key, almost minimal vibes, and yet it’s loaded with a luscious mouth feel and decadent flavor. While I usually love to lean into this and serve it on its own, if you wanted to doll it up a bit, you could always garnish the top with fresh raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, pistachios, caramel sauce, a spoon of whipped cream or a crispy cookie on the side.
PrintPistachio Panna Cotta
Panna Cotta, a popular Italian dessert with origins from the Piedmont region, literally translates to “cooked cream”. But being that New Mexico is one of the three states that grow pistachios in the country, I thought it would be fun to combine my love of both in this pistachio panna cotta.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 3.5 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Gelatin
- Cuisine: Italian inspired
Ingredients
- 1 c. raw pistachios, room temperature
- 4 T. cold water
- 1 1/2 t. powdered unflavored gelatin
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 1 c. half and half
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 2 t. vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
Prepping the pistachios
The first thing we want to do is peel the pistachios: If you don’t care about the color being green, you can skip this step. Bring a medium saucepan with around four cups of water to a boil. Put in the pistachios, turn off the heat, and let them soak for a couple of minutes before draining. Transfer the pistachios to the sheet tray lined with a clean dish towel. Rub the pistachios with the towel and then your hands to remove the skin. Make sure they are completely dry.
Blooming the gelatin
In a small bowl add the 4 T. of water and sprinkle in the gelatin powder and reserve.
Making the pistachio paste
To make the pistachio paste, place the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and pulse them into a crumbly powder. Slowly drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil and puree until it resembles a smooth paste. Transfer this mixture to a saucepan with the heavy cream, half and half, sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Bring this mixture to a boil, whisking as needed. Turn off the heat. Whisk in the bloomed gelatin until it’s fully dissolved and strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Divide between 6 ramekins or small glass cups. Transfer to the refrigerator until the panna cotta is set, around 3-4 hours.
