Christmas spirit in January

The smell and taste of this desert is the quintessential Christmas for me. It incorporates traditional Swedish Christmas flavors: glögg (the Swedish version of mulled wine), saffron and oranges, in a beautifully colored and easy to make desert. So why did I make it in January? Well, we had some glögg left over from last Christmas (2007, that is) that needed to be used, there was saffron in the spice cupboard and oranges are in season. And, most important of all, it tastes divine.

Saffron pannacotta with oranges in glögg marinade

serves 2

Pannacotta:
1½ dl cream
0,25 dl sugar
0,25 g (½ packet) saffron
1 gelatin sheet

For the oranges:
2 oranges
2 dl glögg
1 tbsp maple syrup

For the pannacotta: Soak the gelatin sheet in cold water. Bring the cream, sugar and saffron to a boil while stirring the mixture. Remove from the heat, squeeze out excess water from the gelatin sheet and disolve it in the hot cream. Pour the mixture in two glasses or small bowls. Place in the fridge to set (takes about 3 hours).

Fillet the oranges, there should be no traces of the bitter white parts on the segments. Put in a container or plastic bag, pour the glögg and maple syrup over the oranges to marinate while the pannacotta sets in the fridge.

To serve, get rid of the marinade, and simply portion the beautifully red-tinted orange segments on top of the pannacotta.