My friend Stephanie and I were having a pizza and pasta night(because she bought a pizza oven and I bought my pasta extruder), so we figured we would have a fun time just making pizza and pasta together! To finish up the dinner, I wanted to make an Italian dessert, just to tie in with the already Italian-ish theme we had going on here, and landed on panna cotta. Now I live by chef Josef Centeno’s panna cotta recipe, which I first learned about in 2014. It’s been almost 12 years now, and I still remember it by heart. 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoons gelatin powder. You end up with a panna cotta that is barely set, fairly jiggly, and if you freeze it solid, easy enough to unmold and serve. I love that recipe, and knew it would be easy to execute, without taking up too much time from the main focuses of the night, being the pizza and the pasta. That being said, the dessert I made is anything but a supporting role. I used fennel pollen and vanilla bean in the panna cotta, because I love that those ingredients kind of just float to the bottom/top of the panna cotta, leaving that visible layer of what the flavor is. Fennel pollen plays off of sugar beautifully, and when combined with oranges, almonds, and olive oil, you have all of the makings for an Italian bakery, which was what I was going for. I paired these panna cotta with a blood orange curd, using some bergamot-infused olive oil that Stephanie had on hand, and some almond tuiles for that height and motion. The final dessert was minimalist in presentation, but hit all of the notes you needed for a simple, but really well balanced end to your meal!

Makes 4-9 servings(makes 9 panna cotta, but you can also serve 2 panna cotta per serving):
For the fennel pollen panna cotta:
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
2 tsp fennel pollen
5g vanilla bean paste

In a pot, bring everything to a simmer. Place silicone bar molds onto a sheet tray that can fit into your freezer. Once the sugar and gelatin are dissolved, divvy up the panna cotta among the molds, and freeze solid before attempting to unmold.

For the blood orange curd:
Juice and zest from 4 blood oranges
1 tbsp olive oil(we used bergamot infused EVOO, but any olive oil works)
2 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1g vanilla bean paste
2 tsp cornstarch

In a pot, whisk everything together on medium-low heat until the liquid thickens and is glossy. Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps. Keep at room temperature until it is time to use.

For the almond tuile:
1 tbsp almond flour
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
.25oz olive oil
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix everything together until a batter forms. Spread the batter into Pavoni tuile molds. Bake the tuiles at 375 F for 10 minutes before carefully unmolding the tuiles. While the tuiles are warm, you can optionally place them on a rolling pin, just so that they cool in a curled shape.