Spiced plums with porter sabayon, ginger crumble and iced yoghurt

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Nigel Mendham's evocative plums with sabayon recipe revels in the mellow flavours of autumn, featuring plums, an inventive porter sabayon, ginger crumble and yoghurt sorbet.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Spiced plums

Plum purée

  • 790g of plums, pitted
  • 120g of water
  • 90g of sugar
  • 7g of agar agar
  • raspberry vinegar

Yoghurt sorbet

Porter sabayon

Ginger crumble

  • 2 knobs of stem ginger, peeled and grated
  • 125g of butter, melted
  • 125g of dark brown sugar
  • 150g of porridge oats
  • 100g of self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp mixed spice

Ginger crumble topping

Equipment

  • Muslin cloth
  • Paco jet
  • Sous vide equipment
  • Thermomix

Method

1
Preheat a water bath to 85°C
2
To prepare the spiced plums, cut each plum in half and remove the stones. Sear the plums in a hot pan until caramelised, then set aside
3
Add the remaining ingredients to a separate saucepan, bring to the boil and pour over the plums. Allow to cool, then place in a vacuum bag, seal on high and cook in the water bath for 10 minutes. Once cooked, place the bag in a bowl of iced water to chill
4
For the plum purée, place the plums in a heavy-based pan, add the water and sugar and bring to the boil. Simmer until the plums are soft, this will take 8-12 minutes
  • 790g of plums, pitted
  • 120g of water
  • 90g of sugar
5
Pass the contents of the pan through muslin to extract the juice, then measure out 500ml of the liquid and place in a clean pan. Bring to a simmer, whisk in the agar agar and boil for 2 minutes, whisking continuously
  • 7g of agar agar
6
Pour into a tray and refrigerate until set. Remove from the fridge, transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Season to taste with raspberry vinegar and set aside until required
  • raspberry vinegar
7
For the yoghurt sorbet, add the water, sugar and glucose to a pan, bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and chill. Add the yoghurt, lemon juice and sorbet stabiliser, pass through a sieve and freeze in Pacojet containers. Churn once ready to serve, or use an ice cream maker to churn and freeze until required
8
For the sabayon, add all of the ingredients to a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until a thick ribbon forms - this can take a little time so be patient and don't stop whisking. Once ready, pass through a sieve into an ice bath, then set aside until required
9
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas mark 4
10
For the ginger crumble, melt the butter and sugar together in a pan. Chop the porridge oats to a coarse crumb in a food processor and mix with the other dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix in the grated ginger and transfer to a baking tin. Cook for 25 minutes, or until golden brown
  • 2 knobs of stem ginger, peeled and grated
  • 125g of butter, melted
  • 125g of dark brown sugar
  • 150g of porridge oats
  • 100g of self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp mixed spice
11
Meanwhile, mix the topping ingredients together in a Thermomix or food processor to form a powder. Remove the gingerbread from the oven and sprinkle the powder over the top while still hot
12
Before serving, remove the spiced plums from the bag and allow to come to room temperature. Spoon the sabayon into small individual bowls and use a blowtorch to lightly blacken the surface. Cut some of the spiced plums into quarters and distribute evenly onto the plates
13
Break up the crumble and add a little to each plate. Finish with a scoop of the sorbet, the plum purée and a little juice from the poaching bag. Serve immediately
First published in 2015

Nigel Mendham has proved himself to be as adaptable as he is talented, prospering in restaurants all over Britain and winning great acclaim for his deftly classical cuisine.

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