Goats’ cheese semifreddo, apricots, raspberries and toasted quinoa

Preparation method

1. For the semifreddo, line four 4cm/1½in diameter by 8cm/3in high cylindrical moulds with acetate. Tightly cover the bottom with cling film to ensure that the semifreddo mix doesn’t leak out.

2. Remove the rind from the goats’ cheese.

3. Add the cheese to a free-standing food mixer with the milk and cream cheese and mix with the paddle attachment until smooth. Mix through the vanilla seeds. Remove and set aside.

4. Place one whole egg in a bowl.

5. Separate the remaining two eggs. Place one egg white to one side (for the tuiles) and discard the rest. Place the yolks and whole egg with a teaspoon of the sugar into the free- standing mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk until pale and doubled in volume.

6. Put the remaining sugar in a pan, add a little water and bring to 118C/235F (the ‘soft ball stage’).

7. Slowly pour the sugar onto the whisking egg yolks and continue to whisk until warm.

8. Soften the gelatine leaf in cold water for five minutes. Boil 100ml/3½fl oz of the double cream in a small pan. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine, add the gelatine to the boiled double cream, and stir until the gelatine has dissolved.

9. Whisk the remaining cream in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed.

10. Fold the hot cream into the reserved cheese. Fold the cheese into the eggs. Finally fold in the whipped cream. The mix should be thick but pourable.

11. Pour into the lined moulds and place in the freezer for roughly three hours to set.

12. For the raspberry jelly, add the raspberries to a heatproof bowl with the lemon juice and caster sugar. Suspend the bowl over a pan of boiling water, without letting the bowl touch the water. Cook for about half an hour to extract all of the natural juices from the fruit.

13. Remove the raspberries from the heat and pass the liquid through a fine sieve and measure how much liquid there is. Keep the liquid hot. You need five gelatine leaves per 568ml/1 pint of liquid. Soak the required number of gelatine leaves in cold water for five minutes.

14. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine leaves. Add to the still hot raspberry liquid, and mix until dissolved.

15. Place in the fridge for roughly three hours to set.

16. For the toasted quinoa, rinse the quinoa in warm water and allow to sit for five minutes.

17. Drain and then add to a dry frying pan and heat gently to toast. Once toasted, set to one side to cool.

18. In the meantime, in a separate pan, heat the caster sugar until caramelised.

19. Fold in the toasted quinoa, mix to coat well and pour onto a silicone mat.

20. Once cooled, separate into little grains.

21. For the apricot purée, de-stone the apricots, reserving the stones.

22. Place the fruit in a pan with the seeds from the vanilla pod and the caster sugar. Bring to the boil and continue to simmer until soft.

23. Blend the mixture in a food processor to purée the apricots and then pass them through a fine metal sieve. The consistency needs to be quite thick. Leave to cool naturally.

24. For the fresh apricot and raspberry garnish, de-stone the apricots, reserving the stones. Heat the caster sugar in a frying pan to let it caramelise. Cut the apricots into small wedges and add to the pan and heat until caramelised.

25. Turn the apricots out onto a tray and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove them from any excess caramel and place in a container until needed.

26. Put the lemon juice, vanilla seeds, caster sugar and two teaspoons of water into a pan and bring to the boil. Once boiled, pass through a fine metal sieve and cool in the fridge for an hour, or until you are ready to dress the raspberries.

27. Cut the raspberries in half lengthways.

28. For the apricot kernels, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

29. Split open the apricot stones and carefully remove the kernels. Slice into slithers (just like slithered almonds).

30. Place on a baking tray and toast in the oven until golden-brown.

31. Put a clean pan on the heat, add the caster sugar and caramelise.

32. Add the kernels, mix lightly, pour onto a silicone mat and allow to cool.

33. Once cooled, separate them into individual slithers.

34. For the tuiles, preheat oven to 165C/325F/Gas 3.

35. Mix the egg white and icing sugar lightly to break up a little of the protein. Fold in the plain flour. Fold in the melted butter. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least one hour, then put the mix into a piping bag with a ½cm/1/5in nozzle.

36. Pipe the mix onto a silicone mat into a line about 8cm/3in long and ½/1/5in cm wide. Bake for roughly six minutes, then shape into little curls on a long, cylindrical surface like the bottom half of a wooden spoon.

37. To assemble, dress the cut raspberries in a little of the lemon and vanilla syrup so that they are lightly coated. Cut the raspberry jelly into cubes.

38. Spread a rectangle of the apricot purée on each plate.

39. Spoon a diagonal line of the toasted quinoa on top, towards the centre.

40. De-mould the semifreddo and place across the top of the quinoa, perpendicular to it.

41. Place some of the caramelised apricot kernels and a tuile on top of the semifreddo.

42. Decorate the plate with cubes of the raspberry jelly, fresh raspberries, caramelised apricot segments and honey cress.

Less than 30 mins preparation time

No cooking required cooking time

Serves 4