Rhubarb and strawberries, rapeseed oil pastille with Stilton, port and black pepper

Ingredients

For the jus de fraise and sorbet
400g/14¼oz strawberries, hulled
caster sugar, to taste
12 small strawberries, thinly sliced
For the rhubarb and sorbet
5 stems forced rhubarb, peeled, trimmed, chopped
40g/1½oz caster sugar
For the wafers
1 small piece ciabatta bread, frozen
stock syrup (made with one part liquid glucose to two parts water)
freshly ground black pepper
For the port syrup
1 x 750ml/26½fl oz bottle port
caster sugar or liquid glucose, to taste
For the rapeseed pastille
100ml/3½fl oz water
100g/3½oz Isomalt (or similar sugar-free sweetener)
20g/¾oz powdered glucose (available from specialist baking suppliers)
1½ leaves gelatine, softened in water
190g/6¾oz rapeseed oil
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp citric acid (available from specialist cooking suppliers)
100g/3½oz Cropwell Bishop Stilton soaked in port (to taste), cubed
baby basil leaves, to garnish

Method

1. For the jus de fraise (strawberry syrup), place the strawberries into a bowl, add caster sugar to taste, cover with cling film and set over a pan of simmering water. Cook until the strawberries collapse. Strain through fine muslin and set aside.
2. For the rhubarb and sorbet, place the rhubarb pieces into a small pan, pour over the jus de fraise and poach over a gentle heat in the jus de fraise until the rubarb is soft. Reserve one third of the rhubarb and set aside, reserving the jus de fraise. Blend the remainder of the rhubarb with the caster sugar, pass through a fine sieve and freeze in a Pacojet beaker. Churn in the Pacojet every hour for up to six hours, refreezing between each churn.
4. Place the thinly sliced strawberries into the reserved jus de fraise and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
5. For the wafers, preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Thinly cut the frozen bread on a slicing machine, drench in stock syrup and season with freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes on a baking sheet until crisp and golden-brown.
6. For the port syrup, pour the port and sugar into a pan, place over a medium heat and simmer until the volume of liquid has reduced by two thirds or until syrupy, set aside and leave to cool.
7. For the rapeseed pastille, mix the water, Isomalt, powdered glucose, softened gelatine and rapeseed oil together and then shape into rugby ball-shaped balls. Dust each ball with in a mixture of caster sugar and citric acid.
8. To serve, place 2-3 pieces of poached rhubarb onto four serving plates and place the sliced strawberries on top. Place three pastilles on top of the strawberries. Scatter over a few cubes of the Stilton. Break the wafers into shards and place on the plate. Add a spoonful of sorbet to the plate and drizzle with port syrup. Garnish with baby basil leaves.