It’s warm. It’s cold. It’s chewy. It’s refreshing. It’s tangy. It’s sweet. It’s salty. It is SO many textures and flavors, all perfectly balanced and paired with one another. How can something so amazing be so simple? I’m talking about one of my favorite childhood desserts. A Thai coconut sticky rice with mangoes. It also happens to be both Dev and our son, Sully’s favorite dessert. So this week, I am going to create a fusion of two famous desserts from two different countries: Thailand and Italy. I want to call it, Ithailian. We are making a Paleo Coconut Mango Panna Cotta.
I still have vague memories of my first time eating coconut sticky rice with mangoes. I was maybe 5 or 6 years old. Our families in Hong Kong always ate out together (I miss that so much). This time, we were at a Thai restaurant and at the very end of the meal, my cousin Calvina ordered coconut sticky rice and mangoes. I’ve never had it and she gave me a big spoon full of it. There is no better way than to express this in all caps OMG! It was mind blowing. You ever had something taste SO good that it just made you smile from the bottom of your heart? This was one of those moments. It was inevitably followed by my parents rushing over to make me rinse my mouth out with water. Because when I was younger, mangoes made my throat itch and my face breakout. I’m a rebel when it comes to food…what can I say? So this week, we will paleo-ize that memory, ditch the ever so delicious sticky rice and make something good into something great: my Paleo Coconut Mango Panna Cotta. Let’s get started!
Coconut Mango Panna Cotta:
Panna Cotta:
1½ Cup – Desert Farms Raw Camel Milk
1½ Cup – 100% Organic Coconut Cream
4-5 Pieces – Blond Palm Sugar
¾ Tsp – Salt
1½ Tbsp – Great Lakes Beef Gelatin (Orange)
Mango Sauce:
1 Cup – Fresh Mango Juice
1 Tsp – Xanthan Gum (Option 1)
1 Tbsp – Otto’s Natural Cassava Flour (Option 2)
2 Whole – Champagne Mango (Skin & Diced)
Before we get started on the Coconut Mango Panna Cotta, you know what time it is. It’s ingredients time! There are a few main ingredients that I have to talk about today. You are probably scrolling through the list going, “Camel Milk isn’t paleo.” Yes, in the grand scheme of things, it might be considered more Primal, but I have a very close friend with severe autoimmune issues (Celiac, PCOS) that drinks camel milk from Desert Farms with zero ill effects. ZERO! It is THAT amazing. Their camels are completely Paleo Approved. If you are still hesitant on using it in the Paleo Coconut Mango Panna Cotta, you can opt for full coconut cream. Find a strong flavored coconut cream. If it isn’t very coconut-y, add a few drops of coconut extract. Finally, mangoes! It is mango season and there are mangoes everywhere but not all mangoes are the same. The mangoes we will be using today are champagne mangoes. I would do my best to look for these for the recipe. Other mangoes just don’t do this recipe justice. Enough about ingredients, let’s get cooking!
Panna Cotta Instructions:
First step to the Coconut Mango Panna Cotta is to make the Panna Cotta. Dissolve your gelatin in a ½ cup of Camel Milk. In a sauce pan, bring the rest of your ingredients to a boil and wait for all the palm blocks to melt. Once it starts boiling, add in the 1/2 cup of camel milk with the gelatin and bring it back to a boil. Let the liquid slightly cool and pour it into your container of choice to refrigerate. I like using either ramekins or small jelly jars. Sit the Coconut Mango Panna Cotta in the fridge and allow it to set for 1 or 2 hours. Let’s get on to the mango sauce.
Mango Sauce Instructions:
Where do you find mango juice? Well, you can find it at any Asian grocer. If you don’t like the store bought stuff because of the refined sugar, feel free to make your own. To make your mango sauce for the Coconut Mango Panna Cotta, you have two options. Your first option is the easiest: mix your xanthun gum in with cold mango juice, mix it well and then strain it through a fine mesh and it’s done! However, if you react negatively with xanthan gum, the second option is for you. Mix cold mango juice with 1 tbsp of cassava flour and heat it up to thicken. The only drawback to the second method is that you will need to wait for the sauce to cool before use. The first option yields a clearer/glassier sauce. The second option yields a slightly cloudier sauce. But it is all a matter of presentation. And that’s it! So easy and so very delicious. Serve your chilled Coconut Mango Panna Cotta with the mango sauce and chopped mangoes on top. Be prepared to have a life changing experience. There you have it, my Paleo Coconut Mango Panna Cotta. Until next time, eat up, my friends!
