White chocolate mousse and sorbet with dill and cucumber

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This spectacular white chocolate mousse and sorbet recipe from Agnar Sverrisson is an interesting mix of sweet white chocolate and the savoury Icelandic flavours of pickled cucumber, rye and dill.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

White chocolate mousse

Pickled cucumber

  • 100ml of water
  • 50g of sugar
  • 1 tbsp of Chardonnay vinegar
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and finely diced

Lemon purée

  • 200g of lemon zest
  • 100ml of lemon juice
  • 80ml of light olive oil
  • 50g of sugar
  • 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 200ml of water

Rye biscuits

White chocolate sorbet

White chocolate foam

Equipment

  • Bain-marie
  • Stick blender
  • Thermometer
  • Piping bag with plain nozzle

Method

1
First make the white chocolate mousse. Melt the chocolate, bring to 45°C over a bain marie and then remove
2
Warm the milk to 45°C in a pan and dissolve the gelatine into it. Emulsify the milk with the chocolate and allow to cool
  • 100ml of milk
  • 1 1/2 gelatine leaves
3
Gradually fold through the softly whipped cream, being careful to not lose any air. Pour into a cold container and refrigerate
  • 250ml of whipping cream
4
To make the pickled cucumber, prepare a syrup with the sugar and water by warming in a pan. Add the vinegar after cooking and chill for 20 minutes
  • 100ml of water
  • 50g of sugar
  • 1 tbsp of Chardonnay vinegar
5
Pour the syrup over the cucumber and chill for a further 20 minutes
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and finely diced
6
To make the lemon purée, blanch the lemon zest quickly in boiling water. Blend all the ingredients in a liquidizer until smooth, and then finely sieve before storing in 250g bags in the freezer
  • 200g of lemon zest
  • 100ml of lemon juice
  • 80ml of light olive oil
  • 50g of sugar
  • 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 200ml of water
7
Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2
8
Now make the rye biscuits. Make a French meringue by adding the icing sugar to the egg whites in 3 stages, then folding through the rye powder. Pipe out into 3cm strips and allow to dry for 30 minutes
9
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until crisp. Cool and then chop the meringue into crumb-like pieces. Set aside
10
To make the sorbet, heat the water, add the maltodextrin and simmer for 1 minute, then blend in the white chocolate
11
Season with salt, add the xanthan gum and blend. Cool and store the sorbet in a container in the freezer until needed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
12
To make the foam, warm the water and blend in the lecithin and salt. Pour over the white chocolate and mix with a stick blender until smooth
13
Sweep a spoonful of the lemon purée across a plate, and place a quenelle of the white chocolate mousse on top. Place a scoop of the sorbet alongside it. Crumble the rye biscuits and scatter across the plate
14
Scatter the pickled cucumber across the dish. Spoon some of the white chocolate foam over the mousse and sorbet, and garnish with 40g of dill sprigs, and a further 10g of finely chopped dill
First published in 2015

Agnar Sverrisson’s modern European food combines seasonal British ingredients with Icelandic specialities, serving rustic, Nordic-inflected plates that highlight textural contrast and clean, intense flavours.

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