Beetroot sponge, spinach and onion purée, buttermilk labne, dill and cucumber granita, buchu recipe

Ingredients

• ½ gelatine leaf
• 50 ml beetroot juice
• 1 pinch salt
• 50 g panko crumbs
• 10 g beetroot powder

• 10 g unsalted butter
• ½ onion, thinly sliced
• Salt, to taste
• 125 ml single cream
• 100 g baby spinach
• 200 g fresh buchu, leaves picked off the stems

• 500 ml buttermilk
• 150 g cucumber, diced
• 10 g dill, stems removed
• 5 g white wine vinegar
• 2 g salt
• 1 g xanthan gum

Beetroot Sponge
1. Place the gelatine in a small bowl with ice water and set aside.
2. Place the juice and salt in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the softened gelatine leaf.
3. Place a fine strainer over a medium mixing bowl and strain the beetroot mixture. Take a medium bowl and fill with ice, pour the beetroot mixture into a slightly smaller bowl and place it on to the ice. Whisk the beetroot mixture continuously until it is aerated and cold. The gelatine will have set it. Scoop the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into the moulds. Refrigerate.
Beetroot Crumbs
4. Preheat the oven to 100°C. Mix the crumbs with the beetroot powder and lightly toast in the oven for 20 minutes. Leave to cool and place in an air-tight container.
Spinach and Onion Puree
5. Warm up a medium pan, add the butter and onions and sweat until soft without getting any colour on the onions. Season with salt. Add the cream and reduce over a high heat for 5 minutes.
6. Boil a pot of water add some salt. Blanch the spinach in the boiling water for 1 minute. Remove the spinach with a large slotted spoon and place directly into a blender jug. Blend until very smooth, add the creamed onions and blend again. Pass through a tamis.
Buchu Powder
7. Leave the buchu to dry and blend until very fine using a spice grinder.
Buttermilk labne
8. Hang the buttermilk overnight in the muslin cloth. Once drained, discard the extra whey and place the buttermilk in a small piping bag.
cucumber and Dill Granita
9. Blend all the ingredients in a bar blender and pass through a fine sieve, pour into a tray with a wide base and freeze.
10. Scrape the frozen mixture with a fork to form fine flakes. Keep frozen.
To Serve
11. Scoop the centre out of the beetroot sponges and fill with some of the purée, then take the two halves and stick them together. Carefully roll in the beetroot crumbs.
12. Pipe 1 tablespoon of buttermilk labne on the plate and drag across with a small spatula. Place the beetroot ball on the plate, scoop some of the granita next to the ball and sprinkle with buchu powder.