I read recently that pineapples are set to be this year’s avocados…yes, well. I’m sorry to say avocado-mania went largely unnoticed in our house, and no-doubt will continue to do so as long as there are still bacon and eggs to be had. The only occasion avocados took the limelight was the day after I removed one from the fruit bowl for fear of it setting off the other fruits, to find it’d ‘burnt’ a dirty great black patch into my solid oak work surface the following morning, which despite my best efforts still remains and is now hidden beneath the white pepper pot, which I am banned from having on the table, what with it being an inferior pepper, apparently.
So pineapples it is then. This recipe was not however designed as a means of joining the bandwagon, but as a result of the menu planning association game, which went something like this;-
Me: “Panna cotta…?”
Me again: “white chocolate!”
Me: “Rum.”
Me: “pineapple!”
In real life, at the bistro, the dish is completed with some candied lime peel and a drizzle of the sugar syrup it was made in, but I have omitted that stage here for the sake of the recipe. The pineapple is roasted in a caramel syrup which in turn creates its own basting sauce anyway.
Both the panna cotta and the pineapple require advance preparation, which leaves you with just 20 mins final roasting time prior to serving.
Ingredients
(serves 6)
550ml double cream
175ml semi skimmed milk
½ vanilla pod
75g caster sugar
150g white chocolate
2 ½ x gelatine leaves
1 x pineapple
190g caster sugar
50ml dark rum
To make the panna cotta, combine the milk with the cream in a heavy based saucepan, scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add them along with the empty pod. Heat gently to just below a simmer.
Meanwhile soften the gelatine in a large bowl of cold water.
Add the sugar and the white chocolate to the hot cream and stir until fully incorporated. Remove the vanilla pod and add the gelatine (squeezing out the excess water before you drop it in).
Divide the panna cotta between 6 dariole moulds or individual pudding basins and leave to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. They will need at least 4 – 6 hours in the fridge to set.
Top and tail the pineapple then remove the skin and remove the eyes left behind once the pineapple is peeled. Quarter the pineapple from top to bottom and remove the hard inner core. Cut each quarter in half to make 8 ‘bars’.
To make the rum roasting syrup, dissolve the caster sugar in 100ml cold water in a small pan and heat gently. Without stirring, increase the heat once the sugar has dissolved and cook until the caramel is a dark golden amber. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add another 100ml of water. Add the rum.
Return the pan to a low heat and bring back to a simmer. Add the pineapple and poach gently for 3 minutes, then decant the contents of the pan into a container or bowl which can be refrigerated overnight (once it’s cooled to room temperature).
To serve, preheat the oven to 180⁰C.
Remove the pineapple to a roasting dish and pour over a little of the syrup to come a third of the way up the side of the pineapple. Roast in the oven for 10 – 15 minus, basting with the syrup half way through.
Release the panna cotta from their moulds by dunking them very briefly in a bowl of recently boiled water, then upturn onto a plate and give them a firm downward shake. Serve with the pineapple and a little of the roasting syrup.