Ruby's Rhubarb - Chef Recipe by Ben Shewry

Ingredients

Rhubarb whey sorbet

900 g (2 lb) rhubarb stalks (choose ones with good intense colour), thinly sliced
320 g (11¼ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
100 g (3½ oz) liquid glucose
½ Heilala vanilla bean*, halved and seeds scraped
350 ml (12 fl oz) yoghurt whey
(see basics; you will need to make this 1 day ahead)
Table salt, to taste

Salted pear

2 litres (70 fl oz) freshly juiced, skimmed and strained corella pear juice
100 ml (3½ fl oz) strained lemon juice
2 firm beurre bosc pears
Small pinch of sea salt flakes

Candied cocoa nibs

100 g (3½ oz) isomalt*
100 g (3½ oz) powdered glucose
100 g (3½ oz) ethically produced cocoa nibs*

Rosella stock

100 ml (3½ fl oz) rosella syrup (reserved from to finish, see below)
100 ml (3½ fl oz) fresh, skimmed and strained rhubarb juice
100 g (3½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
½ fresh bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
Few drops of lemon juice

To finish

12 rosella flowers in syrup, drained and syrup reserved for rosella stock (see above)
2 radicchio leaves, torn
10 g (? oz) freeze-dried rhubarb*, cut into thin shards

Method

Rhubarb whey sorbet

Combine the rhubarb, sugar and liquid glucose and mix well. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes to macerate. Transfer to a medium saucepan and simmer over
medium heat for 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender.

Transfer to an upright blender, add the vanilla seeds and blend until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Place over a larger bowl filled with ice and stir the
rhubarb purée until cold.

Whisk the whey into the rhubarb purée and season with a small pinch of salt.

Pour into a Pacojet* canister and store at -25°C (-13°F). When ready to serve, churn in a Pacojet. Alternatively, chill, then churn in an ice-cream machine according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.

Salted pear

Combine the pear and lemon juice in a 6 litre (210 fl oz) capacity distillation flask and place in a rotary evaporator*, set the water bath temperature to 30°C (86°F) and the cooling temperature to -20°C (-4°F), set the rotation speed to 65 RPM and distil at full vacuum for about 25 minutes (depending on the strength of the vacuum) or until a thick paste forms.

Remove the pear distillation from the flask and store in the refrigerator until needed.
When ready to serve, peel and thinly slice the pears.

Place 20 pear slices in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Cover and set aside to macerate for 5 minutes.

Drain the pears. Mix 1 tablespoon of the pear distillation with the pear slices and gently stir until all the slices are evenly coated.

Candied cocoa nibs

In a small heavy-based saucepan, combine the isomalt and powdered glucose and gently melt over medium heat. Once melted, increase the heat and boil until the mixture reaches 150°C (302°F). Remove from the heat, add the cocoa nibs
and stir to coat.

Spread onto a tray lined with a silicone baking mat or baking paper. Cool completely before breaking up and crushing coarsely using a mortar and pestle.

Rosella stock

In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients, except the lemon juice, and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer until reduced by half. Pass through a fine sieve and cool to room temperature. Check the balance of flavours and add the
lemon juice if it is too sweet.

To finish

Separate the rosella petals and pat dry on paper towel to remove the excess syrup. In the base of each bowl form a ring with the slices of salted pear. Place a scoop of the
rhubarb–whey sorbet on top of the pear.

Place a few pieces of radicchio around the bowl. Arrange the rosella petals around the sorbet like a flower. Dress the radicchio on and around the flower with some of the rosella stock. Add the shards of rhubarb. Sprinkle over some candied cocoa nibs
and serve.

Recipe provided by Attica

Photo Credits: 'Origin: The Food of Ben Shewry' Published by Murdoch Books