This dessert is a great way to finish off a vegetarian dinner party- try my Indian spiced tomato and coconut soup as a starter, followed by braised saffron cauliflower salad for the main.
Biancomangiere
| 875 ml | Almond milk (Main) |
| 80 g | Cornflour |
| ½ cup | Almond meal |
| 1 | Lemon, finely grated zest |
| ½ cup | Caster sugar |
| 1 tsp | Pure vanilla extract |
| 1 pinch | Salt |
| 150 g | Pistachio halva, irregularly but thinly sliced (Main) |
| 300 ml | Cream, whipped |
| 1 pinch | Ground cinnamon, to serve |
| 1 small handful | Rose petals, sunsprayed, to serve, if available |
Compote
| 4 sticks | Rhubarb, cut into 5cm lengths (Main) |
| 2 | Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced ½ cm thick (Main) |
| 1 | Lemon, juiced |
| ½ cup | Caster sugar |
| 150 ml | Water |
| 2 tsp | Rosewater |
Directions
To make the biancomangiare
- Mix 75ml of the almond milk with the cornflour so you have a smooth cream. Reserve.
- Put the remaining 800ml of almond milk in a saucepan and add the almond meal, zest, sugar, vanilla and salt. Bring to the boil.
- Stir up the cornflour mixture and stir it into the almond milk mixture so that it thickens. Simmer 1 minute and pour into 8 x 100ml-capacity cups or moulds.
- Cool, cover and refrigerate until completely chilled and set. To unmould, run a small sharp knife around the side of the mould or cup and invert onto a plate.
- Serve the biancomangiare sprinkled with a little cinnamon and some halva slices and with whipped cream and compote on the side.
- If you have some unsprayed rose petals, sprinkle a few of them over each portion also.
To make the compote
- Heat the oven to 200C
- Put the rhubarb and apple slices side by side on a wide shallow oven proof tray. Sprinkle the juice, sugar and water over the top. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until the fruit is tender and a pink syrup has formed.
- Remove from the oven, cool then sprinkle the rosewater over everything.
- Without breaking up the fruit too much, place in a serving bowl and chill. Reserve.
