Chef’s Recipe: Lemon Verbena Pannacotta

An exclusive Pannacotta recipe from Chef Ross Forder (from The Coach House @Middleton Lodge), plus a little tip to make the most out of this deliciously fragrant herb.

Oct 20, 2023

Partnering with chefs whose work I admire has been a long-standing dream of mine, which is why I am so very, very excited to bring you the first Venetian Pantry guest Chef! Say hello to Ross Forder, head chef at the Coach House at Middleton Lodge.

Last week, I shared a conversation with Middleton Lodge’s Creative Director Rebecca Tappin (head here if you missed it!), where Rebecca talked about Lemon Verbena – an aromatic herb grown on the estate she holds particularly dear as a family heirloom of her late great-auntie. As Lemon Verbena features in many dishes at the two restaurants on the Estate, I asked Chef Ross if he could share one of his recipes exclusively with us.

His Lemon Verbena Pannacotta ticks all my personal boxes: it is dead easy to make, requires no baking, plus you can (and should) make it in advance, making entertaining a breeze (no one wants to faff around with dessert whilst hosting!). Brownie points because it’s Italian, too.

So, without further ado….

Guest Chef Ross Forder’s
Lemon Verbena Pannacotta

Serves 4
Time to make: 10 mins (+ 2hrs min resting in the fridge)

Ingredients:

500g Thick Cream
60g Caster Sugar
12 Sprigs of Lemon Verbena
3 Gelatine leaves or 7g gelatine powder

To serve:

Four dessert ramekins or glasses

Method:

Place the cream and sugar in a heavy-based pan; bring to a boil and turn off. Do not allow the cream to reduce in volume by over boiling as it will affect the ability for setting, becoming too firm. Once you have removed the pan from the hob, add the lemon verbena and mix well.
Lay a clean towel over the top of the pan to prevent skin from forming.
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft. Squeeze them to get rid of excess water, then mix them into the cream, whilst it is still hot.
Continue to mix until the cream has cooled down to room temperature. Then pour the cream through a sieve into a pouring jug.
Pour the mixture evenly into four glasses or ramekins.
Refrigerate for approximately two hours until set: it should have a good wobble when moved.

Make it your own

Serving suggestions:

I styled my pannacotta with fresh figs, edible flowers and springs of Lemon Verbena. But if you want to be super faithful to the original, the way this dish is served at Middleton Lodge is with sugared, blowtorched figs, and homemade biscotti. Head chef Ross Forder also recommends apricots soaked in syrup or a homemade plum compote as an alternative to the figs.

Pictured here: Ripple Serving Bowls from Ferm Living (set of 4, £55)

Dry it, drink it

Fresh Verbena wilts pretty quickly once it’s cut from the plant. But an excellent way to preserve it is to dry it and use it as a tea infusion! Try mixing it with dried ginger, and it works beautifully with lavender too. It’s pretty easy to make at home, but if you can’t be bothered, Avantcha sells convenient ready-made silk bags.