Nourished

Passion Fruit

Coconut

Tribute Dish – the Roux Pre-Dessert – panna cotta, jelly and granita… [Thermomix]

At Roux Parliament Square, the pre-dessert is a panna cotta, topped with a jelly, and then a refreshing granita. On the day I went we had a coconut/passion fruit/lime, but I notice from trawling reviews that they also do apple/apple/cucumber (yum!), pineapple/coconut/kaffir lime, strawberry/strawberry/meringue.  So it’s a very successful formula, onto which you can put your own twist.  If you’re going to do this regularly, you’ll need some better glasses than mine, I’m on the lookout for something far prettier, a little like this…

I love dishes like this, you immediately wonder what flavour combinations you’d be able to get away with – is whackier better? Could you go liquorice/pernod/blackberries like some ’80’s throwback drink? How about plum/Prucia liqueur/plum… [I recently discovered Pruci at Gerry’s in Soho, the most amazing stuff! It’s made from the Japanese Ume plum, macerated in grape spirit and aged in French oak barrels – one of the most addictive things I’ve tried in ages!] How about bergamot/apple/elderflower? Earl Grey/Bergamot/Lime? Matcha/coconut/matcha?   

The Roux Panna Cotta

Actually, because I’ve been cooking all weekend, I thought I might try Fruit Tea/Pimms/Cosmopolitan Mixer and massively cheat.  That may be a bad idea, but the grand thing about a thermomix is that it will only take 20 mins or so of prep to try the whole thing out – so why not?

Fruit Tea Panna Cotta (adapted from the Daily Mail). 
3 gelatine leaves
200ml semi-skimmed milk
300ml double cream
50g caster sugar
2 fruit tea bags

A quick adaptation of the standard Thermomix panna cotta recipe gives us a combined technique of…

  1. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. 
  2. Meanwhile, put the milk, cream and caster sugar into the thermomix and cook for 6 minutes / 80ºC / Speed 3
  3. Drain the gelatine and squeeze to remove the excess water. Add to the thermomix and stir for 3 minutes / speed 3 to dissolve the gelatine.
  4. Tip into a bowl, then add the tea bags and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove the tea bags, pour the mixture into your glasses and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or until set – there should be a slight wobble in the centre.
Tips: Now, getting this panna cotta neatly into the glass is going to drive you insane! Make sure you know where your funnel is, and that it fits your glass, before you begin!  I ended up using a sauce bottle, you know the kind, for putting little dots around the plate – still ended up with the odd splash…
Pimms Jelly  (adapted from the Daily Mail)
50g caster sugar
50ml water
Squeeze of lemon juice
2 gelatine leaves
100ml  Pimm’s
100ml  lemonade

Not going to do this in the thermomix.  

  1. Put the sugar, water and lemon juice into a saucepan and heat gently until dissolved. Simmer for 5 minutes. 
  2. Place the gelatine in a shallow bowl, cover with water and soak for 4 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water, then add the gelatine to the pan to dissolve. 
  3. Cool, then add the Pimm’s and lemonade. Cool at room temperature. 

Before you put the jelly onto the panna cotta, make sure it is completely set!  From past experience I’ve found it best to put a tiny layer of jelly on first, allow this one to set, then add the rest of your jelly layer – this gives you a clear jelly.  I know this picture has a frosted glass, it’s just come out of the fridge.  But look at the jelly layer – you can just make out the first, slightly milky layer, and then the clearer jelly on top. Do take the time to do this step properly if you’re doing it for guests – but hey – my kids didn’t even look at it!

Cosmopolitan Mixer Granita:
100ml Funkin passionfruit syrup
2 pouches of Funkin Cosmopolitan Mixer
Juice of 1/2 lime
Ice cubes to blend into a granita
I’m going to cheat, because I can :0)  Put the juicy bits into the thermomix and add enough ice cubes to blend into a granita.  Make sure you really get a fine grain, as the flavour is much stronger in a finer grain than a really gravelly granita (if you’re using a thermomix that is – will not apply to a normal granita if you make it in the traditional way, as your flavour is your ice!).  As usual, mine is far too ungainly, but the flavour is there. I’m going to find a more appropriate glass, and cut back on the quantity and roughness of the granita.  Having said that, the panna cotta is flipping perfect! Absolutely the right amount of wobble, smooth, creamy, so I’ll use those ratios again!  Think I’d be more inclined too to make a proper granita, the thermomix one is great if your in a hurry, but the texture is difficult to gauge like that.






Mango

Michel Roux’s Vanilla and Mango Soufflés with Passion Fruit Coulis

Ingredients
40g softened butter, to grease dishes
40g caster sugar, to coat dishes
8 medium egg whites
80g caster sugar
1 very ripe mango, about 400g, peeled, stoned and finely diced


For the pastry cream:
350ml milk
70g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
7 medium egg yolks
50g plain flour

For the passion fruit coulis:
30g caster sugar
juice of two oranges
2 passion fruit, halved

Preparation:
Butter 4 individual 10cm soufflé dishes and coat the insides with the sugar.  To make the coulis, boil the sugar and orange juice until reduced by one third, pour into a bowl and let cool.  Scrape the passion fruit seeds into the cold syrup and set aside.

For the pastry cream, put the milk and 40g sugar in a small pan, scrape in the seeds from the vanilla pods and bring slowly to the boil.  Whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl to a ribbon consistency, then incorporate the flour.  Pour the hot milk on to the yolks, stirring continuously with a whisk.  Return to the pan and whisk over a low heat for 1 minute, then pour into a bowl, cover with cling-film, and cool slighty.

Preheat the over to 200oC/Gas 6 and put a baking sheet inside to heart.  Beat the egg whites to a thick foam, then add the 80g sugar and continue to beat until the form soft peaks.  Fold one-third into the pastry cream using a whisk, then delicately fold in the rest with a large spoon, scattering in the mango as you go.

Divide the mixture between the soufflé dishes, to come level with the rim.  Stand on the hot baking sheet and cook for 8 minutes.  Serve the soufflés as soon as they come out of the oven on warm plates, with the coulis in a sauceboat.  Invite guests to make a small well in the middle of their soufflés with a little spoon, and pour in a little of the coulis.

Serves 4

James Martin

James Martin’s Passion fruit soufflé with passion fruit jelly and ice cream

Ingredients

For the ice cream
400ml/14fl oz milk
8 free-range egg yolks
200g/7oz caster sugar
400ml/14fl oz double cream
8 passion fruit, seeds scooped out


For the jelly
200g/7oz caster sugar
200ml/7fl oz water
6 passion fruit, seeds scooped out
6 gelatine sheets, soaked in cold water until softened

For the soufflé 
25g/1oz butter, softened
4 tbsp caster sugar
4 free-range egg whites
175ml/6fl oz ready-made vanilla custard
4 passion fruit, seeds scooped out
1 chocolate-coated honeycomb bar, crumbled

Preparation:

For the ice cream, bring the milk to the boil in a heavy-based pan.
Remove from the heat immediately.

Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy. Pour the warm milk over the egg yolks, whisking well until smooth and well combined. Pour the mixture back into the pan and return to a low heat.

Whisk in the cream and passion fruit seeds. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. (Do not allow the mixture to boil.)

Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Once cooled, pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the churned ice cream to a freeze-proof container and chill in the freezer until needed. Take the ice cream out of the freezer about 10 minutes before serving to soften slightly.

For the jelly, place the sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened, then stir in the passion fruit seeds. Remove from the heat.

Squeeze out any excess moisture from the soaked gelatine and whisk into the warm sugar mixture until dissolved. Pour the jelly mixture into the prepared baking tray and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until the jelly has set. Using a 7.5cm/3in round cutter, cut out four circles of jelly. Place onto a tray lined with cling film and place back into the fridge until needed.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

For the soufflé lightly grease 4 large ramekins with the butter, then dust with half the caster sugar.

Whisk the egg whites in a large clean bowl until soft peaks form. Add the remaining caster sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold in the vanilla custard and passion fruit seeds until just combined. Spoon the mixture gently into the prepared ramekins and place onto a baking tray.

Bake the soufflés in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden-brown and risen.

Meanwhile, start plating the dessert. Place a jelly round on one side of each serving plate. Top the jelly with some of the crumbled chocolate honeycomb bar, then place a scoop of ice cream on top of the crumble. Remove the risen soufflés from the oven and place alongside the jelly. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Original BBC Recipe Link