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Recent Vegetarian Recipes

Get your bake on…

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A Few Thermomix Recipes

Liquorice

Tribute Dish – Verveine’s Deconstructed Sherbet Dab

Last week I went to a fish restaurant locally called Verveine, in Milford-on-Sea. Verveine is run buy Chef Patron David Wykes, with a fishmonger at the front and a restaurant at the back.  David and his team cook a variety of traditional and modern dishes.  The one I particularly loved – we all loved – was a deconstructed sherbet dab. An intensely deep and rich liquorice ice-cream is topped with a scattering of sherbet – in this case icing sugar and Texturas Fizzy.  I immediately ordered some Fizzy from my favourite supplier Infusions for Chefs, and got cooking.

I adapted my basis recipe for the lavender ice-cream, and added an additional 160g of Panda liquorice – now I would definitely go with the Panda brand, the liquorice is soft enough to melt adequately into the cream, and has the right intense earthiness you need for it to evoke all the right memories of a proper Sherbet Dab.

Ingredients
160g Panda liquorice (five bars in my case)

300ml whole milk
300ml double cream
4 large organic egg yolks
100g caster sugar

I literally put the whole thing in the thermomix, and cooked it at 80ºC for 5 minutes, speed 5. The main thermomix book tells you to take the mixture to 80º, and although the light was solid, I double checked the mixture with a digital thermometer.  Leave it to cool, then pop into your ice-cream maker until it reaches the desired consistency.

Personally, I think I could easily have upped the liquorice even further, despite it being a higher ratio than I found in many other recipes.  Still, I think it depends how much you like liquorice :0)
I didn’t particularly measure the sherbet, but I think was about 2 Tbsp icing sugar, 1 Tbsp Fizzy, and I popped in about 1 tsp of lemon powder because it happened to be on my counter.  Blitz them together and taste!  When you’re happy, sprinkle liberally on your liquorice and reminisce…  [Looking at David’s dish again, might be worth putting a little bit in the bottom of the dish, then a smaller amount on top – rather than just chucking it onto the ice-cream :0)]

David’s Sherbet Dab
My Sherbet Dab

British

Verveine, Milford-on-Sea

I was surprised to discover that the Hampshire Life 2011 Restaurant of the Year, and Chef of the Year awards belonged to a little fish restaurant about ten minutes from my house in the Forest. I’d had recommendations for Verveine, but somehow it had landed in my radar with more of a plink than a splash.  Given the lack of a decent fishmonger in our area (ridiculous when you live on the coast), Verveine went straight onto my to-try list..

Cajun salmon mousse
Verveine is located on the High Street at Milford-on-Sea, and for non-locals, is just down the road from the lovely Chewton Glen Hotel.  The front of the restaurant is the fishmongers, with a light and bright restaurant extension at the back.  The kitchen is run by Chef Patron David Wykes.
I dragged along my usual accomplices, Dennis and Vicky.  We were greeted warmly, and offered some Cajun salmon mousse, with crisps.  The mousse was whipped, with a with a rich and earthy flavour, but the spice was a little raw, and made the texture a little granular.
Our Garden in Spring

To begin I had Our Garden in Spring with goat’s curd, pickled beet, radish, asparagus, peas, asparagus, garlic flowers and olive oil soil.  The olive is scattered on top of the curd and acts like a seasoning.  The richness of both is offset by the sweetness of the raw vegetables, and the pickling of the soused vegetables.  There’s also an interesting combination of textures on the plate – I particularly liked the goat curd.  And, let’s face it, it’s a very pretty dish…

Verveine preserves a lot of its ingredients to add flavour, in fact they make a number of their key components themselves and try to be as self-sufficient as possible. There’s also a small garden at the rear where they grow their own ingredients, including some of those in my starter.

Brixham octopus with chorizo, rice, chicken skin

Dennis opted for the finely diced Brixham octopus with chorizo, puffed rice, preserved lemons and crispy chicken skin.  He enjoyed the surf ‘n’ turf combinations of the dish.

The main course is based on the premise that you choose your fish from the blackboard (with all the days specials priced out), and then have it cooked in one of four treatments.  These were:

Provençale – Mediterranean vegetables, home-made potato gnocchi, Provençale sauce
Forest – Wild garlic risotto, wild mushrooms, squash puree, almonds
Sea – Sea vegetables, Jersey Royals, olive oil emulsion
Barigole – Morteau sausage, creamed potato, broad beans, baby artichokes

Turbot, Sea

We decided to opt for the turbot, and to each take a particular plating style.  I had Sea – turbot with samphire, broad beans, jersey potatoes, and seaweed.  The little blobs are purees of beetroot and I think butternut squash – they added a sweet depth to counter the salty sea vegetables.

The samphire was pickled, so was acidic rather than salty.

The purees look very pretty, and eat well, but as the dish had been kept under the pass for a little while, and were drying out.

Turbot, Provencale

Dennis opted for the Provençale, which came with courgettes, roast tomatoes, artichokes, gnocchi, and a scrape of aubergine.  The various elements were less ‘mushy’ than a traditional ratatouille, allowing each ingredient to stand for itself.

Turbot, Forest

Vicky opted for Forest – her turbot was plated with mushrooms, almonds, a risotto of grains, pesto, new season ransoms, and samphire.  I tried the grain risotto – I much prefer grain – it holds its texture much better than rice risotto where its an accompaniment (rather than the central element of the dish).

Sherbet Fountain

All of that was quite filling, and we weren’t going to have a dessert, until our waiting staff told us about David’s deconstructed dishes.  One was a take on a sherbet dab, and Dennis and I both plumped straight for that, liquorice addicts that we are…

The liquorice element is a deep and intense ice-cream made with soft liquorice – the sherbet is made with a mixture of Fizzy, icing sugar, and citric acid.  We loved this dish, absolutely delicious if you like liquorice.  I liked it so much that it immediately became a tribute dish, and you can find my Thermomix recipe here.

We had a long chat to David at the end of the meal, swapping recipe ideas, book choices and restaurant recommendations.  David has cooked in some very accomplished kitchens, and this shows in his approach.  From the freshly made butter, to the home-smoked ingredients, Verveine is as self sufficient as it can be.  This does occasionally have its drawbacks, and all three of us disliked the soused samphire – where an ingredient has such an admired texture and flavour, it seems churlish to alter both without good cause.  Plate dressings had also been allowed to dry out a little, which seems a shame, as the purees were actually very tasty.  Overall we enjoyed our lunch, and will happily add Verveine to our list of regular haunts.  The staff are very knowledgable and attentive, and one cheerfully selected a variety of leaves from the garden for another diner to taste.  David is a competent chef with lots of very interesting ideas, and I can’t wait to try more of his deconstructed puddings.  Next time I think this has my name on it:

Violet Beauregarde – Blueberries, bubblegum pannacotta, caramelised brioche
‘Great heavens girl!’ screeched Mrs Beauregarde, ‘you’re blowing up like a balloon!!’ ‘Like a blueberry ‘said Mr Wonka, ‘prick her with a pin!!’ 


Verveine Fishmarket Restaurant
98 High Street
Milford on Sea
Hampshire
SO41 0QE
 

Roux

Roux Brothers Soufflés Suissesse

This savoury soufflé is one of the Roux Brother’s signature dishes, and is one of their first and finest.  The soufflés are cooked in a cream sauce at the last minute to add to the richness of the dish.  The recipe was demonstrated on the Roux Legacy documentary in 2012.
Ingredients:

140 g butter, plus extra for greasing
65 g flour
700 ml milk
5 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 litres double cream
200 g grated Gruyere or Emmental cheese

Method:
  1. For the soufflé: Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Melt 65g of the butter in a small saucepan set over low heat. Using a small wire whisk, stir in the flour and cook gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. 
  2. Take the pan off the heat and leave the roux to cool slightly. Bring the milk to the boil, then pour it slowly over the cooled roux, whisking all the time. Set the pan over high heat and, stirring continuously, bring the mixture to the boil and cook for 3 minutes. 
  3. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the egg yolks. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Pour the soufflé mixture into a wide-mouthed bowl and dot the surface with 1 tbsp of the butter, cut into small pieces, to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 
  4. Meanwhile, chill 8 round 8cm tartlet tins in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes. Remove and immediately grease them generously with softened butter and arrange on a baking sheet. 
  5. To assemble: Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks. Using a whisk, quickly beat one-third of the egg whites into cooled soufflé mix, then, using a spatula, carefully fold in the remainder to completely blend them. Using a tablespoon, heap the mixture into the tartlet tins on the baking tray. 
  6. Pour the cream into a saucepan. Lightly salt the cream then warm gently on the hob, over a low heat without letting it boil. Pour the cream into a warmed gratin dish that is big enough to hold all 8 tartlet tins. 
  7. To cook: Bake the tray of soufflés in the preheated oven for 3 minutes, until the tops begin to turn golden. Remove from the oven and protecting your hands with a cloth, turn out each soufflé into the gratin dish of warm cream. Sprinkle over the Gruyere or Emmental and return to the oven for 5 minutes. The soufflés must be taken immediately to the table; serve them with a spoon and fork, taking care not to crush them.

French

Roux, Parliament Square

This is my second visit to Roux Parliament Square in as many months.  Last time we ate here we were dining with chums, and we wanted to come back on our own to try the latest seasonal menu. I also wanted to make a trip up to the fabulous bar, as it had somehow passed me by before!

Upstairs we had a lovely glass of fizz, and some little bar snacks including some excellent gordal olives, some honeyed cashew nuts, and a home-made seed mixture with fennel and pumpkin seeds – it smelt absolutely amazing.

Beef Consommé 
with Chervil Gnocchi 

We also had our appetisers in the bar – a little pork rillette with mustard, and some lemongrass and cured salmon.

Heading downstairs into the main restaurant, we began with a beef consommé.  The broth was packed full of meaty umami flavours, and the chervil gnocchi introduced a punchy anise flavour into the mix.

Gulls Egg, Wye Valley Asparagus, and Morels
I’ve recently developed a passion for gull’s egg having been initiated into their mystery at Alyn Willliam’s restaurant.  Gulls eggs are a little like duck eggs – rich and absolutely full of flavour – but in a much neater and more manageable package.  They’re absolutely delicious!  Here the egg was cooked in a water bath at 62ºC and served with new season asparagus tips, stems, and ribbons, with a risotto, morels, pea tendrils and mushroom foam.  Incredibly intense flavours, the egg was beautifully cooked, still luscious and almost curd like – forming an integral part of the sauce.
Torchon of foie gras, orange puree, coca

Hubby went for the foie gras, and said it was very good.  He passed me on of those orange segments, and they’re actually dehydrated satsuma segments.  Packed full of citrus flavour they compliment the foie gras without making the dish soggy.  The brioche is served with a milk brioche.

Sea trout with Jersey royals,  asparagus,  sea vegetables, with a shellfish jus

 

Next, sea trout with fabulously crispy skin.  Served with white asparagus, compressed cucumber, green asparagus, brown shrimp, razor clam, mussel, samphire, sea kale and roe, the dish is finished with a light and delicate shellfish jus.  The fish comes on a bed of crushed new season Jersey royal potatoes.  Very clean and light, which lots of complimentary flavours, it’s the perfect spring main course.
Poached loin of monkfish, confit chicken wing, roasted violet artichokes and morels
We also tried the monkfish as we’d been torn between both dishes.  This was a little less successful for me, but purely because the fish had been cooked sous vide.  There’s a fine balance, particularly with fish, with cooking sous vide – it’s a problem I frequently have at home.  Raise the temperature too high and you alter the proteins, keep it slightly cooler and you run the risk that the texture of the flesh seems undercooked (despite it being perfectly safe).  As someone who loves ceviche, and sashimi, it wasn’t the notion of the raw texture that put me off, but actually the slightly in-between state.  Having said that, the rest of the dish was full of flavour, the morels working well with the artichokes and the chicken.
Wild strawberry, strawberry jelly, champagne granita

The pre-dessert of wild strawberries and champagne granita is a refreshing palate cleanser.  The wild strawberry jelly was erring on the side of medicinal, but this is the thing with fresh seasonal produce – what you gain in seasonality can sometimes result in a slight loss in consistency.  I would still rather have had this than imported giant strawberries from Spain.

Rhubarb and custard

I think we all know how I feel about this dessert, as I raved about it so much last time.  Just as perfect, the soufflé was a delicious combination of textures and flavours.  I shall be incredibly disappointed when it goes off the menu, but again Yorkshire rhubarb and blood oranges are seasonal products.  I hope to see it again next year.

We finished the menu with little macaron and pâtes de fruits.  Again we really enjoyed our meal.  The food is well executed, and the flavours generally well balanced.  There were more diners in the restaurant this time, and this added to the atmosphere.  I really liked the bar too, and have been recommending that to people who just want a drink with a good bar menu – some very interesting options on there, and a very comfortable room.  I look forward to my next visit, knowing that the growing season will be in full swing, and that there will be even more on offer.

 

Roux at Parliament Square
12 Great George Street
London
SW1P 3AD

Roux at Parliament Square on Urbanspoon

Ben Spalding

dines at Ben Spalding’s Pop-Up…

Ben’s menu for the evening

Appalling photographs I appreciate – but I wanted to put them on the blog to show the inventive talents of Mr @benspalding1. Ben did a one-night-only popup at Ben’s Canteen, and these photographs are from that event.

I’ve been a huge admirer of Ben since I tasted his food at Roganic – I’ve even been the proud owner of Ben’s mince pies for the Mince Pie project. There was never any question that Ben would find his way in the world, and though this meal wasn’t perfect, I’m amazed he was able to produce anything at all from such a ridiculously tiny kitchen.  I’d follow Ben anywhere to eat his food, and nothing has changed that opinion!

A box filled with mulberry tea, to smell upon arrival – smelled delicious!

Broad beans warmed in mutton fat,
mackerel cured in seawater, shallots broccoli and honey,
caramelised cauliflower and sea blite,
knackerbrod with creamed “chicken of the woods”,
Devon blue with san marzano jam and wild basil,
fermented mung bean paste seasoned with BBQ sauce

Bread

White crab, pumpkin, lichens, grilled cucumber, cloudberries and smoked yoghurt 

Jerusalem artichokes cooked in soil overnight,
spruce, various beetroots and black grape juice

Poussin poached in salted butter, hazelnuts,
onion, and sauce flavoured with roasted pineapple

Whipped whey butter, roasted fern carrots, bran soft and iced lemon thyme

Original beans with lemongrass and ginger,
lingonberry marshmallow,
tonka bean shortbread,
peanut butter fudge,
flapjack

Baking

Heston Blumenthal’s Lemon Tart [Thermomix]

Without doubt the best lemon tart I’ve had, light, just set and vibrant with citrus flavours.

I’ve actually made this recipe several times now, and have gradually refined the process so that now the 11yo actually makes it on her own! The first time I ignored all of the instructions about sticking it into the freezer, and I paid the price. Firstly the dough was far too soft to handle, and broke as I was transferring it to the case. Secondly it went golden far too quickly, and lastly it absolutely fell apart when I mis-handled the tin. Make sure you follow the instructions exactly, use an oven thermometer, your digital thermometer, and if you have one, your laser thermometer too!

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
300g plain flour
150g unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
120g icing sugar
3 large egg yolks
Seeds from ½ vanilla pod
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1 egg for the egg wash

Method:

  1. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, butter and salt on low speed until it becomes a sand like texture (approximately 2-3 minutes). [Actually, I did this by hand]
  2. In the meantime, in a tall container blitz together the icing sugar and egg yolks with a hand blender.
  3. Add the vanilla seeds and lemon zest to the egg yolk mixture and then add to the bowl in the mixer and continue to mix on low speed until fully combined and a very soft dough has formed (approximately 3-5 minutes).
  4. Mould the dough into a flat rectangle and wrap it in clingfilm before placing in the fridge for at least 1 hour. [Did mine overnight, was pretty firm when I rolled it out]
  5. Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 2mm, using two stacked 2 pence coins as guides, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  6. Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/gas mark 5. Line a 26cm tart tin (2.5cm deep) with the pastry making sure to press it into the edges and leaving the pastry hanging over the edge.
  7. Take a sheet of baking paper and scrunch it up several times to eliminate any sharp edges. Prick the dough with a fork all over the surface. Place the baking paper on top and add enough coins (or baking beans) to fill the casing ¼ of the way up. Place in the preheated oven to bake for approximately 20 minutes or until fully cooked. [Be careful with the coins – once nearly put a watch battery in the oven which someone had dumped in the coin pot – check them!]
  8. In the meantime, mix some of the leftover dough with an egg using a hand blender.
  9. After 20 minutes, remove the baking paper and coins and, using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the tart with the dough and egg mixture. This ‘liquid pastry’ will ensure that any holes will be sealed. Return the tart to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
  10. Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  11. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 120ºC/gas mark ½. Place the baked pastry case in the oven to warm up.

[If you’re in a massive hurry, you can use this pastry, it comes in a pre-cut disc and is the best commercial pastry I’ve found to date.  This is what the 11yo uses when we’re in a hurry, and it’s pre-rolled to a very suitable thickness]

 

For the filling:
Finely grated zest and juice of 5 lemons
300ml double cream
390g white caster sugar
9 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
Method:
  1. Put all the filling ingredients into the thermomix and cook for 10 minutes, speed five, at 60ºC – keep a close eye on the temperature, you want to stop it at 60º – do not rely on the thermomix, check it with a digital thermometer!  At this point, strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug. With a spoon, remove the bubbles from the surface of the liquid.
  2. Slide the oven rack out a bit, then pour the mixture into the warm pastry case inside the oven. Fill the case to the top, slide the rack carefully back in, and bake the tart for approximately 25 minutes or until the temperature of the filling reaches 70ºC. Allow to cool completely at room temperature.  [Now. You’re supposed to check the temperature with a thermometer – DO NOT TEST THE TEMPERATURE AT THE EDGE OF THE TART! It’s cooked further than the rest of it, and will mark your custard! I’ve now made this tart several times and I actually now test it with a laser thermometer, basing the reading on the centre of the tart – you can also use the ‘wobble test’ – there should still be a noticeable wobble in the centre.]
  3. Just before serving, trim the overhanging pastry by running a sharp knife round the top of the tart tin and discard.
Notes:
The tart had the perfect amount of wobble, and stood upright, but it was still a little too loose for me, in terms of mouth feel.  Unless you’re going to practice it before you make it for something big, do take it a little beyond 70ºC if you want to make sure it’s more firmly set.  Also, Heston says to trim the pastry just before you serve? No, think that’s a bad idea… Firstly, I ended up with little crumbs on my tart, not matter how I held it, because the pastry is so brittle.  Secondly, I managed to break a chunk off mine at the last minute, which then meant that I was unwilling to really trim it up to the fluted edge for fear of a repeat…  Also, the pastry was still too thick… I rolled it much thinner after that.
Make sure your sheet will cover your tin entirely

 
 
 
Rolled to the thickness of two 2p pieces… Eventually…
 
 










Remember to test your tart in the centre, not at the edge!

 

Tart, with nibbled edge and that blooming crack!…
This recipe is in Heston Blumenthal at home cookbook.  You can find it here >

Butter

Flavoured Butter [Thermomix]

Of course we all know how to make flavoured butter, but in the Thermomix it’s even more insanely easy! Today I made on flavoured with 1 lime, 1 lemon, and 1 blood orange, then chopped some herbs into it.  Used it to pop under the breast skin of my roast chicken – yum yum.

Look, this is my chicken before it even went in the oven – but it’s also a cornfed chicken, so the skin is already golden :0) Of course forgot to photo it when it came out… But you get the idea.  And yes, I loosen out all of the joints to ensure even cooking, which means I cut off the end of the wing so it doesn’t stick into the breast.

Then I popped all the herbs I hadn’t used this weekend into the Thermomix, put in 1kg of butter, cooked / chopped it at 57ºC for 10 minutes.  Perfect herb butter.

Come on, who wouldn’t want that on their fish? Or a quick version of Omelette aux Fines Herbes?

Chocolate

Vanilla-Ice Cream, and Chocolate Ice-Cream

Yes, I’m still making ice-cream at a ridiculous rate since I got the Thermomix, but it’s now so easy I’m determined never to buy another tub of ice-cream again.  This way I know exactly what’s gone into it!

First up, vanilla…

1 vanilla bean
475ml whole milk
150g granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
240 ml double cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract.

Hey, it’s a thermomix recipe – first I pulse a whole vanilla bean with the sugar, then put everything in, cook to 80ºC, speed 5, for around 11 minutes in my case.  Do make sure the custard reaches 80ºC.  Strain it, preferably into a bowl over ice, and chill in the fridge.  When cool, churn in your ice-cream machine until the consistency is right, then set in the freezer.

Using exactly the same technique, chocolate… 

475ml whole milk
2 Tbs and 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the Green & Blacks)
Pinch of salt
170g good quality chocolate.  I used Valrhona 68% cocoa solids
4 large egg yolks
200g granulated sugar
240ml double cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract.
Just omit the stage with the vanilla, and carry on as above.

Vanilla Ice-Cream

Valrhona Chocolate Ice-Cream (slightly melting :0)

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.






Pierre Koffman

Pierre Koffman’s Pistachio Souffle [Thermomix]

Pistachio soufflé with hibiscus flower ice-cream

We all know I love a soufflé, but now I have a thermomix I’m going through my recipes seeing how I can adapt them accordingly.  This Pierre Koffman soufflé was an absolute doodle in the thermo, the creme patisserie is now so simple to do, that soufflés are now a very real option for every day eating (though perhaps not to be recommended!).  It also means that it’s a very simple and viable option for a dinner party – the creme patisserie has to be made in advance anyway, but whilst your thermo gets on with that, you can be prepping the rest of your meal!  Watch this space, soufflés are going to be flooding out of my kitchen…

Ingredients


Creme Pattiserie:
½ vanilla pod
100g caster sugar
500ml milk

120g egg yolks

50g corn flour
40g pistachio paste

For lining the dish:
25g butter, softened
25g caster sugar

For the Meringue:
4 egg whites (let’s say 140g)
1 tbsp caster sugar
Icing sugar to serve.
Preparation:
Grind together the vanilla pod and caster sugar until smooth.  Mix in the remaining creme patisserie ingredients and cook for 7 minutes at 90ºC, speed 4 until smooth.  Put in a bowl to cool and cover with cling film and cool rapidly.
Generously butter 4 individual soufflé dishes. Put the grated chocolate inside and rotate the moulds so that the chocolate completely covers the inside, sticking to the softened butter. 
In the thermomix, beat the egg whites until firm, add the tablespoon of caster sugar and whisk until stiff. Add a small quantity of the whites to the pistachio mix to soften it, then fold in the rest of the egg whites and pour into the soufflé dishes.
Bake in a hot oven 240°C/ 475°F/ gas mark 9 for 15 minutes or until well risen. (If you’re making large individual ones, 15 minutes will leave them baveuse, which is my preference anyway – if you want them slightly further along than that, you’ll need to watch the oven like a hawk.)
To serve, dust the top with icing sugar and serve with ice cream of your choice.
Serves 4

Additional notes…

I know Pierre recommends the chocolate flake lined moulds in the original recipe, but I always find they go a strange colour.  This time have melted some of the pistachio paste into the butter before double lining the moulds.  I realise these seem very heavily lined, but having recently seen Alan Murchison line his moulds for an apple and cinnamon soufflé, I’m now trying out this heavier method.  It seems to work well, and perhaps offers more ‘structure’ to the soufflé?

And yes Bruno, I know that creme patt doesn’t look smooth, but I was just forking it out :0)

I use the Sevarome purees, fantastic things, though jolly expensive.  There are lots of recipes to make your own on-line, and now I have a thermomix, I may just do that :0)