Panna Cotta with Strawberries

To prepare panna cotta with strawberries, start by filling a bowl with cold water.

Add the sheets of gelatine, making sure they are completely immersed.

Leave the gelatine in the water for 10 minutes.

While the gelatine softens, cut the vanilla pod in half lengthwise.

With the point of a knife, scrape off the seeds which are an essential ingredient of panna cotta.

Pour the cream into a saucepan, add the vanilla pod, its seeds and the sugar.

Stir well and place on the heat. Heat the cream until you see little bubbles appearing on the sides of the pan (this will take about 5 minutes). Take care not to let the cream boil. 

Turn off the heat, strain the gelatine and add it to the cream.

Mix well using a whisk to dissolve the gelatine. Remove the vanilla pod and pour the cooked cream into individual bowls. Leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Garnish the cream with strawberries before serving.

To taste, you may also add a few mint or thyme leaves.  

Useful tips and interesting facts

A well-made panna cotta will be speckled with black vanilla seeds. This shows that it contains real vanilla and not just an essence.

You may garnish the panna cotta with other types of red berry fruits or serve it in layers with mango or melon jelly, or indeed any other fruit jelly of your choice.