BERRIES AND BUTTERMILK PUDDINGS

Berries and Buttermilk Puddings image

Provided by Lillian Chou

Yield Makes 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

For buttermilk puddings:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup whole milk, divided
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tablespoons sugar
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
For sauce:
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoon sugar
1 (3-inch) strip lemon zest
1 (3-inch) strip orange zest
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 cup quartered strawberries
2 cups mixed berries
Equipment: 4 (6-to 8-ounce) bowls or wide glasses

Steps:

Make buttermilk puddings:
Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup milk in a small bowl and let soften 1 minute.
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a small heavy saucepan and add pod. Add remaining 3/4 cup milk and sugar and bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture to hot milk mixture, stirring until dissolved. Quick- chill in an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until cold but not thickened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in buttermilk, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large glass measure, discarding solids. Pour into bowls and chill until set, at least 8 hours.
Make sauce:
Bring wine, water, sugar, zests, and bay leaf to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then boil until reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 10 minutes.
Add strawberries and simmer 5 minutes. Discard zests and bay leaf, then purée strawberry mixture in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Force through clean fine-mesh sieve and discard solids.
Chill sauce, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 1 hour.
To serve:
Spoon sauce over puddings and top with remaining berries.