*Recipe* Ruba Khoury's Perfect Panna Cotta

Meet Ruba Khoury, the talented chef (former Septime, Frenchie) and owner of Dirty Lemon, a stylish Mediterranean restaurant and cocktail spot in the 11th arrondissement. 

This month, we asked Ruba to share one of her recipes with us so that everyone could cook up a storm at home and she was kind enough to open up her recipe book! This light, summery recipe is absolutely perfect for the season, and is so versatile in terms of what you might like to serve with it - meaning you can use your creativity and go with whatever suits your mood! You might want to serve it with summer berries, sprinkle with pistachios, drizzle with coulis or honey, - whatever speaks to you! Here, Ruba makes the most of delicious fruits for those fresh, zesty summery vibes. So, until you can taste it in person next time you're in Paris at Ruba's beautiful restaurant, why not make it yourself at home?

INGREDIENTS

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450 ml milk

750 ml cream 

180 g sugar

6 g salt 

6 gelatin sheets 

20 ml rose water

1 vanilla pod

1 orange

1 grapefruit

1 clémentine 

1 sicilian lemon 

100 g toasted & chopped Iranian pistachios 

(or seasonal fruit at the time, berries & red fruit are lovely with this)

METHOD

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1. Soak the gélatine sheets in cold water until soft.
2. Heat the milk and cream in a pan on a low to medium heat, but be sure never to bring to a boil.
3. Add the sugar & salt whisk until dissolved.
4. Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the pan.
5. Add the rose water.
6. Squeeze out as much water as possible from the gélatine leaves and then add to the milk mixture.
7. Whisk until completely dissolved.    
8. Carefully pour the mixture into a dish.    
9. Allow to cool before placing in the fridge.
10. Panna cotta will set in about 4 hours but this could take longer depending on the fridge temperature and size - be patient!

TO GARNISH

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1. Segment all the fruit except the lemon
2. Scoop out 2 spoonfuls of panna cotta onto the serving dish of your choice.
3. Arrange the fruit segments on top
4. Add the chopped pistachios  - finally, using a micro plane or fine grater, grate a little lemon zest on top. Et voilà!