For those of you that do not look forward to fresh strawberries every year, I pity you. One of the simplest joys in life is holding onto the leaves of strawberry and biting in and savoring the sweet, succulent juiciness that is a ripe strawberry, maybe even licking the dribbling juice that starts to flow down your chin. Tuscan food lovers are not different than Americans when it comes to these ruby colored little treats and will eat them in almost every incarnation possible.

But here is one of my favorites, combining the sweet juiciness of the ripe strawberries with the creamy decadence that is panna cotta, life does not get much better.

INGREDIENTS

For the compote (this is actually good over pancakes and other things as well so a double recipe of this would not go to waste)

3/4 lb strawberries

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tsp granulated sugar

For the panna cotta

1lb sliced strawberries

1 3/4 cup buttermilk, vigorously shaken

6 tbsp granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp gelatin (plain)

1/2 cup half and half

DIRECTIONS

For panna cotta

Put your strawberries, buttermilk and sugar into the blender and blend until very smooth, at least three minutes. Strain thoroughly, you want no solids left or they won’t gel as well. Put half of your half and half in a bowl and add the gelatin and let it sit. Take the other half, warm slowly to a boil, stirring very regularly and add the gelatin after you have achieved a boil. When all the gelatin has dissolved pour your warm cream mixture into your strawberry mixture and stir until you have an even consistency. Pour into gelatin molds and set, overnight is the best option.

For compote

Warm the ingredients just enough for the sugar to dissolve and have the mixture coat the strawberries and then pour over the panna cotta.

Two variations I like on this are making extra compote and warming until the berries are softened to top pancakes the next day, and adding a little Cointreau when beginning the compote. Yum.

…we all scream for gelato.  Old Helios has finally blessed us with a true flowering of spring and with sunshine and happy days comes everyone’s favorite from 3 to 103.

So you are saying, “Yes, Dynise, we all like ice cream and gelato, but what does that have to do with Tuscany, or Tuscan food?”  Well, the same land that spawned Dante, Da Vinci and Michelangelo also gave the world the gift of gelato.  Those that have had true Italian gelato in Italy aren’t surprised by this I would guess.  But for five centuries the Tuscans, initially the Florentines, have indulged in this simple yet perfect pleasure.

Those that have stumbled across one of the myriad of gelaterias throughout Tuscany and Italy, that thankfully stay open all year, all day long and fairly late into the night in most instances; can verify for you that indeed gelato is not exactly the same as ice cream.  One of the biggest differences is in the air content, gelato has a much lower air content than all except the most super premium of ice creams.  This also results in smaller servings being able to completely satiate you.  Another difference is that the temperature at which gelato is held is slightly higher than ice cream, this has a subtle effect on both the texture and the flavors.  A final difference that most are unaware of is that eggs are used in some gelatos.  A true crema fiorentina gelato is worth every single cholesterol point, too.

In the US the only one I was able to find that had consistency and flavor like my Tuscan favorites was Ciao Bella, hazelnut and strawberry in particular. http://www.ciaobellagelato.com/.