Bergamot parfait, orange jelly, liquorice cream

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David Everitt-Matthias showcases his precise, inventive cooking in this bergamot dessert recipe. Technically dazzling, the dish is handed its distinctive flavour by the two lead ingredients of bergamot and liquorice.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Candied bergamots

  • 1 2/3 lb of bergamots
  • 2 lb of water
  • 1 2/3 lb of granulated sugar

Bergamot parfait

Orange and bergamot wrap

Liquorice set cream

  • 1/4 oz of liquorice stick, crushed
  • 1/8 oz of gelatine leaves
  • 2 2/3 oz of milk
  • 8 oz of double cream
  • 1 1/2 vanilla pods, split
  • 1/2 orange, zested
  • 1/2 lemon, zested
  • 1/2 pinch of saffron
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 1/2 oz of sugar

Orange jelly

  • 3 1/2 oz of orange juice, from a carton
  • 8 3/4 oz of sugar
  • 1 3/4 oz of water
  • 1/4 oz of citric acid
  • 2 oranges, zested
  • 4 gelatine leaves, soaked
  • 14 1/8 oz of orange juice, freshly sqeezed

Liquorice purée

Liquorice tuile

To plate

Equipment

  • Sugar thermometer
  • Liquidiser
  • Acetate
  • Fine strainer

Method

1
Begin by preparing the candied bergamots. Using a pin or the tip of a roasting fork, prick the bergamots all over
2
Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the bergamots for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain the bergamots, discarding the water
3
In a pan large enough to comfortably hold all of the bergamots, bring the water and the granulated sugar to the boil until the sugar dissolves. Add the bergamots and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and store in a cool place for 24 hours, making sure the fruit is covered throughout
  • 2 lb of water
  • 1 2/3 lb of granulated sugar
4
The next day, remove the bergamots from the syrup, measure out 150g of the syrup and set aside in a squeezy bottle (this will be used for the parfait and wrap). Add the 150g of granulated sugar to a pan, heat to dissolve then bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and pour onto the bergamots. Leave to steep for 24 hours, then repeat this process for another 4 days
5
For the bergamot parfait, soak the gelatine in cold water for approximately 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the bergamot, syrup and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil
6
Remove from the heat and place in a liquidiser. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine, add to the liquidiser and blend until a smooth purée forms. Pass through a fine chinois and set aside
7
Add the orange juice and zest to a small saucepan and reduce by approximately half. Add the sugar and bring to 121°C, but make sure that the sugar has dissolved before boiling
8
While this is coming to temperature, place the egg yolks in a mixer and whisk until pale and thick. With the machine running on high, slowly drizzle the syrup onto the egg yolks. Carry on whisking until cold
9
Fold in the warm bergamot purée, leave to cool briefly, then fold in the whipped cream
  • 5 oz of double cream, whipped to soft peaks
10
Using some cling film, roll the mix into 4 long sausages measuring 26cm long x 10cm in diameter. Place in the freezer for 24 hours before using
11
For the orange and bergamot wrap, place the orange juice, bergamot syrup, bergamot and agar in a saucepan and set aside to allow the agar to swell. Soak the gelatine in some cold water for approximately 5 minutes
12
Bring all of the ingredients (except the gelatine) up to the boil and stir until the agar has dissolved
13
Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine and add to the liquid. Place in a liquidiser and blend into a smooth purée, then pass through a fine chinois into a jug
14
Skim away any froth from the surface and pour the mixture onto an acetate-lined 53cm x 32cm baking sheet. Place in the fridge to set
15
Preheat the oven to 96°C
16
For the liquorice set cream, soak the gelatine in cold water for approximately 5 minutes. Place the milk, cream, liquorice, vanilla, orange zest, lemon zest and saffron in a saucepan and bring to the boil
  • 1/8 oz of gelatine leaves
  • 1/4 oz of liquorice stick, crushed
  • 2 2/3 oz of milk
  • 8 oz of double cream
  • 1 1/2 vanilla pods, split
  • 1/2 orange, zested
  • 1/2 lemon, zested
  • 1/2 pinch of saffron
17
Squeeze the excess water from the gelatine and add to the warmed milk mixture to dissolve
18
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and caster sugar and gradually add the milk mixture. In a clean pan, add the custard and gently heat until semi-thickened, then pass through fine chinois
19
Pour into a 17cm x 13cm x 4cm tray, then place this smaller tray into a large baking tray with a clean J-cloth on the bottom
20
Pour enough hot water into the baking tray to come a third of the way up the sides of the smaller tray. Carefully place in an oven and cook for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until the cream has just set in the middle
21
Remove from the oven and leave in the tray to cool. Once cool, remove from the tray, cover and place in the fridge until required, preferably the day before
22
For the jelly, soak the gelatine in cold water for approximately 5 minutes and bring the orange juice from a carton, orange zest, citric acid, sugar and water to the boil
  • 3 1/2 oz of orange juice, from a carton
  • 8 3/4 oz of sugar
  • 1 3/4 oz of water
  • 1/4 oz of citric acid
  • 2 oranges, zested
  • 4 gelatine leaves, soaked
23
Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine, add to the orange juice and whisk until dissolved. Pass through chinois into a 20cm x 15cm x 6cm plastic container and leave to set in the fridge
24
For the liquorice purée, place all of the ingredients (except the malic acid) in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Set aside for 2 minutes to allow the agar to swell
25
Simmer for 3-4 minutes, then remove from the heat and whisk in the malic acid. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then pass through fine chinois into a container. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. Once set, transfer to a liquidiser, blend until smooth and store in a squeezy bottle. Set aside in the fridge until required
  • 0 oz of malic acid
26
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5
27
For the liquorice tuile, place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix together until smooth. Spread into 6cm x 2cm strips onto a silicon-lined baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 5-10 minutes until crisp and dry, then leave to cool before storing in an airtight container
28
Remove the orange and bergamot wrap from the fridge and place a roll of parfait on the top. Use the acetate to smoothly roll the wrap around the parfait, then turn so that the 2 overlapping edges are sat on the underside of the wrap. Place back in the freezer, repeat with the other parfaits and leave in the freezer for 2 hours - you may need to trim the wraps to make them more manageable
29
Once ready to assemble the dish, remove the wraps from the freezer, trim the ends and remove the acetate
30
Cut each wrap into 3 and place left of centre onto plates. Dot the liquorice purée around each plate and, using a teaspoon, place 2 spoonfuls of liquorice cream alongside. Add 3 scoops of the orange jelly
31
Stud 3 liquorice tuiles at different angles in the cream. Drape the red veined sorrel at different angles and serve
First published in 2015

David Everitt Matthias does not do anything by halves: he opened his restaurant, Le Champignon Sauvage, decades ago and hasn’t missed a service since, he writes his own cookbooks and forages himself for many of the ingredients that appear in his dishes.

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