Poached Rhubarb with Namelaka and Verbena Kefir Granite

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This rhubarb dessert was inspired on a walk in early spring. I had just visited my farmhouse, where the first wild garlic and rhubarb shoots were coming up.

After that, I had a walk along the beach and saw small hollow ponds on the ground where you could see frozen grass underneath. So that got my imagination going. We serve this dessert also with a see-through sugar tuille in early spring, when it’s still frosty outside. The guest has to break the glass to see the frozen green granite with small herb shoots coming up. It is a dish that represents passing from winter to spring.

How to Make White Chocolate Namelaka:

1. Zest half a lemon into the double cream and leave to infuse.
2. Add the milk and glucose, and zest the other half of the lemon into a dish.
3. Bring it to the boil and then take it off the heat.
4. Add the gelatin mass and whisk to make sure it’s melted.
5. Pour the mixture onto the chocolate and emulsify with a stick blender until fully emulsified.
6. Add the double cream and emulsify until everything is even. Be careful not to overwork it or it will split.
7. Push the mixture through a sieve and pour into a container or piping bag.

 How to Make Verbena-Kefir Granite:

1. Blend everything and freeze in a container. Scrape the mix with a fork every 30 minutes until fully frozen. Alternatively, pour it into liquid nitrogen and blend the frozen mix in a blender.
2. Keep in the freezer until required.

How to Make Yoghurt crumble:

1. Preheat the oven to 140 C, chimney open.
2. In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix 80 g milk powder, 80 g freeze-dried yoghurt, AP flour, cornstarch, sugar.
3. Melt the butter and add it to the dry ingredients on a slow speed. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse sand and all the butter has been incorporated.
4. Pour the mixture onto a tray lined with Silpat mats or baking parchment and bake. Open the oven door every 10 minutes and mix with a spatula to make sure the mixture cooks evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until dry.
5. Take the crumble out of the oven and leave to cool.
6. Melt the white chocolate (for better results temper it).
7. Place the crumble in a bowl and add the rest of the milk powder and yoghurt.
8. Give everything a good mix with your hands.
9. With one hand mixing, use the other hand to pour in the chocolate, coating all the crumble evenly.
10. When all the chocolate is incorporated, scrape the crumble onto a tray and flatten it out evenly. Place it in the fridge uncovered to dry out and fully set.
11. Crush with a rolling pin or quickly blend in a blender to achieve a rocky consistency.
12. Keep covered in the fridge.

 How to Make Poached Rhubarb Jelly:

1. Preheat a water bath to 65 C
2. Combine the diced rhubarb, elderflower syrup, sugar and vanilla paste in a metal container that fits into a sous vide machine.
3. Place the container in a water bath and cover with a lid.
4. Cook the rhubarb for 10-20 minutes or until cooked, but not mushy.
5. Pour the mixture on a sieve and collect the liquid.
6. From the amount of liquid, calculate 7.5% gelatin mass.
7. Add it to the liquid and mix to melt it.
8. Place the rhubarb in a container and pour the liquid on top. Mix and cover with a lid and chill in an ice bath or fridge to fully set.

To serve:

• Poached rhubarb jelly
• Namelaka cream
• Yoghurt rocks
• Kefir granite
• Herbs (optional)

How to Serve:

1. Place a few spoonfuls of rhubarb jelly in the bottom of a bowl.
2. Top with namelaka cream..
3. Add some yoghurt rocks.
4. Finish with the granite and herbs.
5. Serve immediately.

Recipe note:

• Gelatin mass is made by mixing gelatin powder at a ratio of 1:5 with cold water.
• Let the mix hydrate for 5 minutes and melt in a bain barie.
• Pour it into a container and leave to set.
• Using gelatin this way gives a consistent result every time. It avoids under or over hydration.
• If a recipe has a weight of dry gelatin, then multiply it by 5 for the amount of gelatin mass you need to use. We always weigh out a percentage at the restaurant to keep the results consistent.