Mark Bittman's Pumpkin Panna Cotta

Hrmph. I have voiced my skepticism about Mark Bittman's recipes before. But with this recipe, I officially question whether I'll every try another one of his again. Maybe minimalism is not for me? Or at least not Bittman's version of it. Simple, easy cooking should not equal pallid pap. But perhaps I should be less judgmental when the pap I speak of is cooked cream. The dueling sides of my brain will battle it out while I proceed.

With leftover pureed pumpkin hanging about my fridge like a sullen teenager on a Friday night, I thought an easy way to get rid of it would be to turn it into silky little cups of pumpkin panna cotta, as published in a Minimalist column a few years ago. Bittman even goes so far as to propose that you could unmold this dish into a piecrust as a suitable replacement for pumpkin pie. Which leads me to ask: why, Mark, why would you abuse your impressionable readers with this suggestion?

The beauty of panna cotta lies in its ease of preparation and the pure, simple flavor of cream shining through the suspended form. With nothing but a scattering of macerated strawberries alongside it, panna cotta can be the easiest and most elegant of desserts. On the other hand, the glory of pumpkin pie is the multi-layered taste imparted by a good blend of warm flavors (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, and brown sugar). It can be a delight to eat, and often you really do wonder if you can toss the crust and just scrape happily away at the filling.

The pumpkin and cinnamon in the panna cotta crossed out the milky, creamy goodness and left behind a one-note flavor combination that reminded me more of seasonal coffee blends at Starbucks than a reasonable substitution for pumpkin pie at the holiday table. I lost the very things I love about panna cotta and pumpkin pie in this combination. The bottom line is that I don't need my panna cotta gussied up and I don't need my pumpkin pie simplified. My dueling brain rests.

I sprinkled powdered gelatin over some milk and let it sit.

In the meantime, I blended together more milk, cream, the pumpkin, sugar and cinnamon. I heated the gelatin mixture until it dissolved, then slowly stirred in the pumpkin mixture until steam rose off of it.

I poured the mixture into cups and let them cool before putting them in the fridge to set up. Once it had cooled, the panna cotta separated into two layers.

I didn't eat the rest...

Comments

[lindy]

Hmmmm. I too have had some issues with Bittman recipes. I think we may just have very different taste preferences?

[Alanna]

Lovely post, isn't it interesting how we have 'affinity' for food people/cookbooks/even food blogs in the way we do for friends/personal interests? I happen to be a Mark Bittman fan though haven't tried any of his desserts and have learned that his recipes seem to be, well, let's say unproofed and leave it at that. Nice work!

[Ivonne]

Delicious! And I've been craving panna cotta lately too. I think I shall give this a try.

Thanks for the post!

[Luisa]

Lindy - you have to wonder, yes.

Alanna - I think you're right about those taste affinities. And thank you!

Ivonne - maybe you'll like it more than I did.

[Tania]

This recipe sounds appealing, but you make a good point about it lacking the complexity of what makes pumpkin pie so good. Not everything we bake is going to be knock-out fabulous, even it's invented by famous food writers. I appreciate the very honest review!

[Adrienne]

That's so sad about Mark Bittman. I think it may be just a Minimalist thing. I had a Minimalist cookbook for awhile, and I actually sold it back to a used bookstore (very rare for me), because none of the recipes were all that appealing. His book, How to Cook Everything, however, is standard, and I use it all the time. Hhhmm.

[Bea at La Tartine Gourmande]

Nice!

[Bea at La Tartine Gourmande]

Nice!

[Luisa]

Tania - thanks!

Adrienne - how interesting. Glad to know I'm not alone in my assessment.

[Leila]

Well, chacun a son gout. I have How to Cook Everything and use it a great deal, more than Joy of C and about as much as Fanny Farmer. I have found that one must look at his recipes with a skeptical eye. But when they work, I do like them.

However I never turn to Bittman for dessert recipes. Except for his pear clafouti, which has worked for me.

I have the Minimalist Cooks Dinner and use the lamb shanks recipe all the time; also like his minimalist choucroute garni. OTOH, I made his gratin of eggplant from Everything and was very sorry. I have cooked eggplant & onion casseroles enough without a recipe to know that the onions and eggplant need to be sauteed first, dammit. They'll never soften up just baking in the oven, certainly not in the time his recipe states. Why don't I listen to my own good sense? I was cooking this for a party and didn't time it correctly, because I was hoping that somehow *his* recipe only needed 45 minutes baking time. Hah!

But what personality he has. I just like him.

[Susan]

I love the concept of the Minimalist, but the Mark Bittman recipes I've tried (two kinds of pancakes and a cornbread) have been utter failures, not mere disappointments. I followed the recipes exactingly, so I blame them. Jim Lahey's no-knead bread is brilliant, though!

[Shaun]

I take it you have never heard of constructive critisism. It seems as though you are going a tad bit over board on the negative. I guess as a reader and an executive chef myself I just feel as though the colum was a little harsh. As chefs we have all had our blunders and that is useually what brings us to our greatest creations.