Take the granita out of the freezer, scrape it with a fork, so it again looks like slushy snow, then pop a scoop on top of the strawberries in each bowl. Spoon a quarter of the cashew cream into each of four shallow bowls, then top with the strawberries and a scattering of the chopped praline. Meanwhile, hull and quarter the strawberries (or halve them if they’re on the small side). Put the remaining 190g cashew nuts in a blender with 225ml cold water, blitz until they’re silky-smooth, then put in the fridge to chill. Once cooled, roughly chop the resulting cashew praline. Stir quickly to combine, then immediately scrape out on to a metal tray and leave to cool. As the sugar carries on melting, shake and swirl the pan until the sugar turns into a deep caramel, then tip in the toasted nuts, salt and fennel seeds. Put the remaining 60g caster sugar in a heavy-based saucepan on a medium-high heat, and gently shake the pan until the sugar starts to melt do not stir it, though, or the caramel may crystallise. Toast 60g of the cashew nuts in a dry frying pan, or in a 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 oven. (In the restaurant, we just leave the mix to freeze solid, and scrape it only when we need to serve.) Leave in the freezer until ready to serve. Repeat every hour for four to six hours, until the granita is the consistency of slushy snow. Scrape the ice crystals around the edges into the more liquid centre, then freeze again. Pop the lid on the container and put it in the freezer for an hour. Pass the granita mix through a fine sieve into a wide container that will fit in your freezer (keep the solids left behind in the sieve – they make a lovely infusion for chilled water just be sure to strain it before drinking). Pop the rest of the bunch of basil, stalks and all, in a blender with the elderflower cordial, the chilled sugar syrup and 125ml cold water, then blitz smooth. Pick a handful of the smallest Thai basil leaves and put them in a sealed container in the fridge. Take off the heat, leave to cool a little, then put in the fridge to chill. Put 75g of the caster sugar in a small pan with 75ml cold water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Make the granita first, because it will need to freeze, which will take anything between four and six hours. Prep 10 min Cook 25 min Freeze 4 hr+ Serves 4ġ35g caster sugar 1 small bunch Thai basil (about 20g) 50ml elderflower cordial 250g cashew nuts ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp fennel seeds 1 x 400g punnet strawberries I prefer to use Thai basil in this granita, not least because I adore its special floral fragrance, but if you can’t get hold of any, European green basil will work, too.
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