Recipe: Rhubarb cheesecake
Ingredients
Serves 8-10
Rhubarb purée
200g caster sugar
50g grenadine
1kg rhubarb (washed and chopped)
Yogurt nitrogen rocks
(Batch serves 30-40)
40g ginger
300g milk
400g yogurt
40g Proespuma
1 litre nitrogen
Cheesecake
190g good quality cream cheese
57g caster sugar
75g rhubarb purée
1 whole egg
Poached Yorkshire rhubarb
150g sugar
100g water
30g grenadine (optional)
250g young thin rhubarb, cut into 6cm lengths
Sablé
400g unsalted butter
175g icing sugar
5g sea salt
100g almonds (roasted and chopped)
500g flour
Method
For the rhubarb purée, dissolve the sugar and grenadine then add the chopped rhubarb. Cook until soft and the fibres are broken down. Remove from the heat, strain, and keep the juice for later use. Place in a food processor and blend until smooth. Allow to cool.
To make the yogurt nitrogen rocks, microplane the ginger into the milk, heat lightly and allow to infuse for two hours. Strain the milk, then mix with the yogurt and Proespuma, using a hand blender for two minutes. Place in an espuma gun and charge with two gas charges. Discharge the mix from the gun into a bowl filled with nitrogen and fold over until it hardens and forms rocks. Freeze until ready to serve.
Mix all the cheesecake ingredients together with a hand blender until smooth. Pour into a small ovenproof dish lined with clingfilm and place in a pre-heated oven at 98°C for 30 minutes.
Remove from the dish and place into a bowl and blend until smooth. Once smooth, pour into 10 small moulds and freeze for eight hours.
For the poached rhubarb, bring the sugar, water and grenadine to a low simmer. Add the prepared rhubarb and slowly cook for about 8-10 minutes until tender. Once cooked, remove from the pan and place onto a plate to cool. Reduce the liquid until syrupy.
To make the sablé, beat the butter, sugar and salt until light and creamy. Add the almonds and then the flour. Leave to rest for four hours. Roll out and cook at 160°C for 7-10 minutes. Cool, then place into a vac-pack pouch and break into crumbs with a rolling pin.
To serve, remove the cheesecake from the moulds and serve with the purée, the poached rhubarb and sablé. Pour a small amount of the syrup around the frozen cheesecake, garnish with the yogurt nitrogen rocks and serve.
Recipe by Michael Wignall, executive chef at Michael Wignall at the Latymer, Pennyhill Park hotel, Bagshot, Surrey
Recommended wine
I would choose Brachetto d'Acqui Piemonte. This wine is a frizzante and has a very gentle bubble because it is sweet and sparkling at the same time. Braccheto is a red variety from Piemonte with a fruity, flowery taste and smell.
Ali Rasouli Nia, head sommelier, Michael Wignall at the Latymer, Pennyhill Park hotel
