Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce

I like to serve this dessert in clear glasses, with the ruby-red fruit puree on the bottom. Diners plunge their spoon down through the creamy layer and bring up a smidgen of sauce with each spoonful. You’ll have a little sauce left over, just enough to enjoy with yogurt the following day.

Note that the recipe doesn’t use an entire package of gelatin. The peculiar measurement I have recommended yields just the right consistency: not too stiff, not too soft. You can make the sauce a day ahead, but the panna cotta texture is most luscious the day it is made. From Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner by Janet Fletcher (Ten Speed Press).

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce 

  • 1/4 pound rhubarb, in ½-inch slices

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

  • 1 cup of sliced strawberries (about 6 ounces), plus a few more for garnish

Panna Cotta

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 1-inch piece of vanilla bean, split lengthwise

  • 2 cups plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

  • Pinch kosher or sea salt

  • 1-1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

To make the sauce: Put the rhubarb, sugar, and orange juice in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently until the rhubarb has softened completely, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully as the mixture wants to boil up and over. Stir in the strawberries and cook uncovered, stirring often, until they soften slightly, about 2 minutes. Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender. Refrigerate, covered, until chilled. Makes about 1 cup.

To make the panna cotta: Put the milk in a small saucepan. With the tip of a paring knife, scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the milk, then add the pod to the milk as well. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep for 30 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod with a fork.

In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, and salt.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the warm milk and let soften for 5 minutes. Return the saucepan to medium heat and bring the milk to a simmer, whisking constantly until the gelatin completely dissolves. Cool 5 minutes, then whisk the milk mixture into the yogurt.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons strawberry-rhubarb sauce in the bottom of each of six 6- to 8-ounce glasses. Divide the yogurt mixture evenly among the glasses. (I put the yogurt mixture in a measuring cup with a pour spout so I can distribute it easily.) Cover the glasses with plastic film and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.

Serves 6