Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta

This sounded so cool & refreshing. I love lemon verbena - so delicious & so easy to grow just about anywhere. This panna cotta sounds like a perfect little something to finish a summer meal on the deck or as a personal mid-afternoon treat paired with a cup of good rich coffee - the article from the Seattle Times suggested Starbucks Ethiopian Sidamo... The recipe is adapted from one created by pastry chef Karen DeMasco of Craft in NYC. ***Plan to make the lemon verbena sauce a day ahead so the flavor of the herb will have time to infuse the sauce.**** ***** Recipe editor would not allow me to add this - the jelly recipe NEEDS 1 TABLESPOON OF THE VERBENA SAUCE ADDED - this is in the body of the recipe but not in the ingredients.

• Ready In: 4 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Verbena Sauce

• 1⁄2 ounce  lemon verbena leaf, fresh with stems removed
• 3⁄4 cup corn syrup

• Jelly

• 3  tablespoons cold water
• 1⁄2 teaspoon gelatin powder
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 1  teaspoon lemon juice

• Panna cotta

• 1  cup milk
• 1  cup  whipping cream
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 ounce  lemon verbena leaf, stems removed
• 2  teaspoons gelatin powder
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk
•  lemon verbena leaf, for garnish

Directions

1. To make the sauce: Blanch the lemon verbena leaves in a quart of rapidly boiling water just until they wilt and turn bright green. Wring all the water out of the leaves and pile them in a blender with the corn syrup. Purée the mixture, let it stand at room temperature for several hours or overnight, then strain it. Discard the solids and chill the sauce in the refrigerator.
2. To make the jelly: Soften the gelatin in the water in a small saucepan, then warm the mixture over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice and verbena sauce and distribute the mixture evenly between six 4-ounce flexible molds or ramekins, and chill the molds until the jelly is set, about 30 minutes.
3. To make the panna cotta: Stir the milk, cream and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the mixture comes to a gentle boil, then stir in the lemon verbena leaves and remove the pan from the stove. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
4. Meanwhile, soften the gelatin in the cold buttermilk. When the lemon verbena mixture has cooled, strain the liquid and discard the leaves. Reheat the strained milk mixture with the buttermilk and gelatin until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Let the mixture cool to room temperature then distribute it evenly between the molds with the jelly.
5. To serve: Dip each mold or ramekin in hot water and run a knife around the inside of the mold to loosen the panna cotta, turn the panna cotta out onto plates, jelly side up. Spoon about two tablespoons of Lemon Verbena Sauce around the base of each serving, then garnish with lemon verbena leaves.