Mark Birchall’s strawberries, kernel mousse, almond and lemon verbena ice tea
Mark the return of Wimbledon with this sophisticated twist on a classic strawberry dish courtesy of Mark Birchall, chef patron at Michelin-starred Moor Hall
Ingredients
Strawberries 100g sugar ¼ lime juice
For the apricot kernel mousse
12g apricot kernel oil 225g milk150g egg yolk80g caster sugar150g honey3 gelatine leaves650g whipping cream
For the pumpkin seed crumb
65g butter50g sugar50g Demerara sugar50g plain flour50g ground almonds25g oats15g chopped pumpkin seeds
For the tea granita
30g lemon verbena 160g sugar700g water1 whole lemon juice 8 Darjeeling tea bags
Method
For the mousse
- Heat the milk up in a pan to just under boiling. Remove from the heat and add the kernel oil.
- To make the creme anglaise, strain the hot milk through a sieve into a saucepan then add the egg yolk, sugar and honey and cook on a low heat to 75°c or until the mixture thickens and leaves a clear path on the back of a spoon when a finger is drawn across. (This will take around 5 minutes – do not boil and make sure to stir constantly.)
- While cooking the anglaise put the gelatine leaves in a bowl with cold water to bloom.
- Once cooked remove from the heat, drain the gelatine leaves and mix well with the anglaise. Put the mixture in a bowl and chill in the fridge.
- Whisk the cream to soft peaks.
- Fold one-third of the whipped cream into the anglaise. Then add the rest of the cream making sure you don’t overmix.
- Chill the mousse until serving. (At least 2 hours)
For the pumpkin seed crumb
- Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl. Mix until combined together into a ball. Crumble the mixture onto a greaseproof-lined baking tray so you have little clusters of crumble.
- Bake at 160°c for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
For the tea granita
- Boil the water then add lemon, sugar, verbena and Darjeeling tea. Infuse for 4 minutes then pass through a sieve.
- Allow to cool, place into a 1 litre container and freeze. You will need to do this 6 hours before you make the dish.