This dessert showcases the versatility of rhubarb, its acidity balanced by a silky, creamy cheese panna cotta. The recipe scales up quite easily if you want to make more for a crowd.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4 on it¿s own or 8 as part of fourplay

　　

For the Panna Cotta

Scant 1/2 cup (112g) heavy cream

　　1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin (or 2.25g sheet gelatin; see page 276)

　　1/4 cup (50g) sugar

　　1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

　　8 ounces (225g) fromage blanc

　　

To Serve

Port-Poached Rhubarb (page 248)

　　Rhubarb Pickles (page 249)

　　Blackberries

　　Crispy Almond Phyllo (page 211)

　　

For the Panna Cotta

Step 1

Line an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap.

　　

Step 2

Pour a couple of tablespoons of the cream into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Let it sit for about 1 minute, then microwave for 45 seconds or heat gently in a saucepan until melted.

　　

Step 3

Put the remaining cream, the sugar, and the vanilla pod and seeds in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cream and gelatin and stir.

　　

Step 4

Put the cheese in a heatproof bowl and pour in the hot cream. Emulsify with an immersion blender. Strain through a fine strainer.

　　

Step 5

Pour the panna cotta mixture into the prepared pan and chill overnight.

　　

To Serve

Step 6

Unmold the panna cotta. Slice into rectangles and use a spatula to transfer it to dessert plates. Garnish each with a few batons of rhubarb, a few blackberries (it looks nice when you cut the blackberries in half), and a shard or two of the crispy phyllo. Drizzle a few drops of the port poaching liquid on the plate.

　　

make it simpler

Step 7

You could serve the panna cotta with the almond phyllo and just fresh berries, or pair it with the Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote (page 250). If you want, you could replace the almond phyllo with a thin, crisp store-bought cookie, but the phyllo is so easy to make.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__