Peach melba

First of all make the almond tuiles.  Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C/gas mark 4).

Put 20g of the sugar and the pectin in a small bowl and mix together.

Put the milk, remaining sugar and butter in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and whisk in the sugar and pectin.

Return to the heat and bring back to the boil. Take off the heat and mix in the flour. Spread a thin layer on a baking tray lined with a non-stick baking mat, using a palette knife.

Spread the flaked almonds over the top, then top with a sheet of silicone baking paper. Bake for 8–10 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool, then carefully remove the baking paper. Set aside in an airtight container. (These can be made up to 3 days in advance).

Next crystallise the almonds. Put the almonds  in a saucepan and lightly warm on the stove. At the same time, put the sugar and water in another saucepan and cook to 118°C.

 

Pour the cooked sugar onto the almonds and mix well. Place the pan onto the stove and, stirring continuously, cook over a medium heat until the sugar crystallizes. Remove from the heat, spread and separate out the nuts on baking parchment and leave to cool. Set aside. (You can make these up to 2 weeks in advance).

For the raspberry compote; put 85g of the raspberries in the food processor and blitz to a puree.

Put the water and 1.5 tsp caster sugar in a small saucepan and heat briefly. Pour this and the lemon juice over the raspberries and mix.

Pass the puree through a fine sieve and leave to cool.

Mix together the remaining caster sugar (about 2 tbsp) and pectin in a small bowl.

Put the fruit purée and remaining raspberries in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the sugar and pectin and cook for 2–3 minutes.

Pour into a shallow tray, then leave to cool before transferring to the fridge. This can be made up to 4 days in advance.

Make the panna cotta by putting the cream and milk in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the pan and drop in the empty pod too. Bring to the boil, then take off the heat. Cover with cling film and leave to infuse for 1 hour.

Soak the gelatine in a bowl of ice-cold water for a few minutes until soft. Squeeze the gelatine to remove excess water.

Add 30g of caster sugar to the pan of cream and vanilla, return to the heat and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and add the soaked gelatine. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a bowl and leave to cool for about 20 minutes. Once the panna cotta has semi-set, whisk so the vanilla seeds are evenly dispersed.

While the panna cotta is setting, make the poached peaches. Put the water and sugar in a saucepan. Scrap the seeds from the split vanilla pod into the water and drop the empty pod in too.

Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, then add the halved peaches, cover and cook over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes until the peaches are slightly soft. Take off the heat and leave the peaches to cool in the syrup in the fridge.

To assemble and finish; spoon 40g of the raspberry compote into the bottom of each glass (8 glasses in total). Carefully pour 75g  of the semi-set panna cotta on top of the compote, then place in the fridge for about one and a half hours to fully set.

Take the poached peaches from the fridge and drain from the syrup. Cut the peaches into segments and lay on top of the set panna cotta.

Spoon 3 small bulbs of the remaining raspberry compote on top of each panna cotta glass and decorate with raspberry halves, crystallized almonds, pieces of almond tuile and fresh mint sprigs.