Pomegranate Red Wine Panna Cotta

I have tasted panna cottas in hotels and never really liked it. To me, they were bland! So, when I came across this simple and easy recipe on Pastry Affair, I wanted to try it the very moment.... But somehow, it kept on postponing...I even thought of making them on Valentine's Day as it would be a perfect dessert for the day but since we had guests, didn't bother!! 

Finally, yesterday when I had some free time, I decided to give it a try. Since it was my first attempt with panna cottas, I decided to keep it minimal. However, it was a success at home and my people loved them. If making for kids, you could avoid the wine syrup and use any fruit coulis instead, as the wine syrup was a bit sharp in taste for the kids!!

Ingredients: 
Recipe Source: Pastry Affair

For the Panna Cotta
Unflavored gelatin - 2 1/4 tsps
Cold Water - 3 tbsps
Heavy Cream - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Granulated sugar - 1/4 cup
Salt - a pinch
Vanilla essence - 2 tsps

For the Red Wine Syrup
Sweet Red Wine - 1 cup
Granulated sugar - 2 tbsps (optional)
Pomegranate seeds

Method:

Making Panna Cotta

• In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water, whisk together and allow it to sit for 5- 10 mins to bloom.
• In a large saucepan, heat cream, milk, sugar and salt over medium heat, stirring until sugar fully dissolve and it begins to boil.
• Bring to a low simmer and add in the gelatin, stirring constantly for 1-2 mins.
• Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla essence.
• Divide evenly among serving glasses and refrigerate until set, about 4 -5 hours.

Making Red Wine Syrup

• In a small saucepan, bring the red wine and sugar (if using) to a slow simmer. Reduce the wine by 1/2 cup to concentrate the flavor. Remove from heat and chill.
• Spoon the wine syrup evenly over the panna cottas and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Chill until ready to serve.

Notes:

• I used home-made sweet red wine, so I didn't add extra sugar for the syrup.
• You could use white wine too for making the syrup.