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Panna cotta, an exquisite Italian dessert, means “cooked cream.” It is made by simmering cream, milk, sugar and gelatin leaf together and letting it cool until set. It is usually flavored with vanilla and topped with berries coulis.

Contemporary flavors of panna cotta include chocolate, caramel, rhubarb, lemon grass, green tea and passion fruit.

One other flavor is nutmeg, an evergreen tree indigenous to our famous Banda Islands in Maluku, more popularly known as the Spice Islands. Indonesia and Grenada are the biggest nutmeg producers in the world.

The nutmeg tree is important for the two spices derived from the fruit — nutmeg, which is the actual seed of the tree, and mace, the dried, beautiful lacy reddish covering of the seed.

Grated nutmeg and nutmeg powder are widely used for flavoring cakes, custards and potato-based and egg-based dishes.

It is impossible to eat raw nutmeg fruit because it needs to be boiled for several hours. To make spicy pickles known as manisan pala , sugar has to be added to the mix. This fragrant nutmeg fruit snack is not widely available in supermarkets, but some Manadonese restaurants sell it.

Nutmeg fruit panna cotta with strawberry lime sauce

This week’s recipe is nutmeg fruit panna cotta with strawberry and lime sauce. I was inspired by a Manadonese culinary event I took part in last week. Sean Macdougall, executive chef of Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place, and I created a contemporary nutmeg fruit panna cotta, orange mango anglaise and coconut tuile.

Here, I simplified the recipe and used strawberry and lime sauce for a more tangy flavor.

You do not need to add sugar to this panna cotta. The sweetness will come from the nutmeg fruit pickle. The contrast with the sourness of the strawberry sauce will complement the creamy taste of the panna cotta. You will need 125 ml-sized molds for this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

50 ml (around 3 tablespoons) nutmeg fruit extract (from 200 grams sweet nutmeg fruit pickle put through a juicer), 3 sheets gelatin leaves, 200 ml full cream milk, 250 ml cream.

For the sauce: 300 grams strawberries (chop half the strawberries into squares and put the other half into a blender to make juice), juice from 2 limes, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 150 ml water.

To serve: 4 sprigs of mint or basil leaves.

Method:

Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes or until soft. Place the milk, cream and nutmeg fruit extract and bring to a simmer. Squeeze the water of the gelatin leaves, then add to the pan and take off the heat. Stir until the gelatin has dissolved. Divide the mixture between the molds and leave it to cool. Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours until set.

For the sauce: put the sugar, water and sliced strawberries along with the rest of the strawberry juice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved and the strawberries softened. Add the lime juice and cook for extra 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To serve: Dip the base of each mold very briefly in warm water and turn each panna cotta out onto a serving plate. Spoon over the sauce, garnish with a sprig of mint or basil and serve immediately.