Pistachio bavaroise, baked rhubarb, lemon verbena jelly & Italian meringue

We’ve packed this spring dessert full of goodies, namely pistachios, rhubarb, lemon verbena and fluffy Italian meringue. The combination is really tasty, not overly sweet, and with a few touches, the serving is really, really nice. The recipe makes enough dessert for 10 people.

Pistachio Praline

• 100 g Pistachio nuts
• 35 g Caster sugar
• 30 g Rapeseed oil

Caramelize the sugar in a saucepan. Add the pistachios and stir until the caramel covers the pistachios. Pour the mixture onto a tray with a silicone mat and leave to cool completely. Blend the caramelized pistachios with the rapeseed oil to a smooth cream.

Bavaroise

• 2 Gelatine sheets
• 60 g Double cream 1
• 60 g Milk
• 25 g Egg yolk
• 25 g Sugar
• 130 g Pistachio praline
• 250 g Double cream 2

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water. Heat the double cream 1, milk, egg yolk and sugar to 84 °C while stirring. Squeeze the gelatine leaves and stir them into the hot mixture. Leave to cool slightly.
Lightly whip double cream 2 and blend in the pistachio praline. Gently fold the two mixtures into a smooth mousse. Fill silicone molds with the batter and place in the freezer.

Rhubarb

• 700 g Rhubarb
• 150 g Water
• 300 g Sugar
• 2 g Rose pepper
• 40 g of Rum
• Beetroot powder

Peel the rhubarb and place it in a vacuum bag with the remaining ingredients. Seal the bag and bake at 90°C steam for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the rhubarb. Cool the rhubarb in an ice bath.
Open the bag, remove the rhubarb and save the liquid in a saucepan.
Place the rhubarb side by side on a chopping board and cut into diagonal portions. Save any cut offs and cook them into a compote together with the saved liquid.

Pistachio cake

• 140 g Sugar
• 100 g Finely ground pistachios
• 100 g Egg whites
• 1/2 Lemon peel
• 30 g Wheat flour
• 100 g Browned butter

Mix the sugar, egg white, pistachios and lemon zest. Sift in the wheat flour and then fold in the browned butter. Pour the batter onto a silicone-lined baking sheet and spread evenly over the entire sheet. Bake at 160°C for about 15 minutes and leave to cool.

Punch out rings the same size as the Bavaroise – the cake forms the base of the dessert.

Lemon verbena jelly

• 225 g Lemon juice
• 65 g Sugar
• 110 g Water
• 1 Vanilla pod
• 4 sprigs Lemon Verbena
• 5.6 g Agar agar
• 4,6 Pectin

Split the vanilla pod in half and add the seeds and pod to the saucepan. Add the pectin and agar agar together with the remaining ingredients. Bring everything to the boil. Strain the liquid, pour out onto a tray and place in the fridge to set.

When it’s time to serve, punch out rings from the gel – the size should be the same as the cake and Bavaroise!

Italian meringue

• 125 g Egg white
• 75 g Sugar
• 60 g Water
• 200 g Sugar

Whisk the egg whites at medium speed until they start to become frothy. In the meantime, bring the water and sugar to a boil at 121°C. Pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the egg whites, whisking constantly.
Continue whisking until the meringue is glossy, stable and has cooled to room temperature. Place the meringue in a piping bag.

Candied pistachios

• 50 g Pistachios
• 50 g Sugar
• 10 g Water

Boil the sugar, a little water and the pistachios in a saucepan until the water boils away and the sugar begins to crystallize around the nuts. Remove the pan from the heat and stir quickly until the pistachios are evenly candied. Pour out onto a plate and leave to cool completely. Chop into smaller pieces.

Garnish

• 2 ask Atzina cress

When serving:

This is a dessert that you build from the bottom up!

1. Start by placing circles of pistachio cake on the plates
2. Place rhubarb pieces around the ring
3. Place a slice of lemon verbena jelly on the Bavaroise
4. Place a “puck” of Bavaroise on top of the cake
5. Pipe rhubarb compote
6. Sprinkle with candied pistachios
7. Pipe out a rather large dollop of meringue on top
8. Take a glowing piece of charcoal from the grill with tongs and burn the meringue on top (see picture)
9. Garnish with Atzina cress or another nice green sprig!