Grant Young, chef-proprietor of Restaurant 65 in Hertfordshire, has created this unique dessert served with beetroot and berry compote and a cardamom panna cotta.
Ingredients
For the beetroot:
- 2 large beetroot
For the cardamom panna cotta:
- 50 ml1¾ fl oz double cream
- 20 cardamom pods
- 100 ml3½ fl oz skimmed milk
- 100 g3½ oz icing sugar
- 3 gelatine leaves
- 100 g3½ oz Greek-style yoghurt
- 100 g3½ oz crème fraiche
For the beetroot and berry compote:
- 50 g1¾ oz cooked beetroot
- 200 g7 oz mixed berries, such as strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, redcurrants
For the mixed-berry coulis:
- 50 g1¾ oz cooked beetroot
- 20 ml¾ fl oz mixed berry juice
- 25 g1 oz icing sugar
For the beetroot brownie:
- 150 g5¼ oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 50 ml1¾ fl oz walnut oil
- Grated zest and juice of 2 unwaxed oranges
- 75 g2¾ oz plain flour
- 25 g1 oz cocoa powder
- 100 g3½ oz caster sugar
- 3 eggs, separated
- 100 g3½ oz broken walnuts
To decorate:
- Sprig of mint
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Method: How to make Beetroot brownie
To cook the beetroot:
Put them in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes until cooked through. Drain, leave to cool and then peel.
To make the cardamom panna cotta:
Put the cream, cardamom pods, milk and icing sugar into a pan and warm to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes to soften. Squeeze the gelatine to drain it, add to the cardamom cream mixture and stir until dissolved. Strain through a sieve, then blitz with a hand-held blender and pass through a sieve into a jug. Add the yoghurt and crème fraîche and combine until smooth. Pour into six 50ml dariole moulds and leave in the fridge for about 2 hours to set.
For the beetroot and berry compote:
Wash the berries under cold water and allow to drain. Finely dice 50g of the cooked beetroot and mix with the berries.
For the mixed-berry coulis:
Chop 50g of the beetroot and mix it with the berry juice in a pan over a gentle heat. Add icing sugar to taste – you want the coulis to be slightly tart, but not too tart, so add sugar accordingly. When the coulis is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove the pan from the heat and, once it is cool, carefully stir a spoonful of the coulis into the beetroot and berry compote.
For the beetroot brownies:
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and line a 20 x 23cm baking tin with greaseproof paper. Put the chocolate into a glass bowl and stand over a pan of simmering water to melt. Add the egg yolks and oil and mix together. Grate 100g of the beetroot into the mix and combine well. Then add the orange zest and juice and mix together.
Sift together the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl and stir in the sugar, then fold into the chocolate mixture. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric hand-held mixer and then fold them into the chocolate mixture followed by the walnuts. Combine well and pour into the prepared baking tin. Spread the mix evenly and bake for 7–8 minutes until risen and crisp on the outside but still soft in the centre – a knife inserted in the middle should come out wet but the top should be crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool, then turn the cake out of the tin and cut into individual portions.
To serve:
Unmould the panna cottas by warming the moulds slightly with a blow torch (or between warmed hands), then turn them out onto plates. Add some of the beetroot and berry compote and a portion of brownie and drizzle the coulis around the plates. Decorate with a sprig of mint and dust with a little icing sugar.
