The Sweet Life: A day-out in Brussels with Chocolatier Marc Ducobu
For Marc Ducobu, chocolate isn’t just an ingredient; it's an art form. And, as an award-winning Belgian chocolatier and ‘pastry maverick’, he knows a thing or two about it.
Recipe by Fulvio Pierangelini, Creative Director of Food - Hotel de la Ville, Rome
Ingredients:
250ml of unsweetened almond milk
300g strawberries
250ml semi-whipped fresh cream
40g sliced, toasted almonds
45g icing sugar
6g fish gelatin
½ a lemon
½ a vanilla pod
1 orange
4 basil leaves
Preparation:
1) Soak the fish gelatin in cold water. Whilst this is soaking, cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and extract the seeds.
2) Heat 100ml of almond milk together with the sugar and vanilla seeds, but do not boil.
3) Add the softened, well-squeezed gelatine into the hot milk and mix until it dissolves.
4) Add the remaining almond milk and semi-whipped cream to this mixture and mix well. Divide this mixture into molds for panna cotta.
5) Wash and cut the strawberries, then season them with orange and lemon juice, as well as basil leaves torn into small pieces by hand.
6) Once the panna cotta has set in the molds, turn them out and place the panna cotta in a deep dish. Garnish with the toasted almonds, and arrange the seasoned strawberries at the base of the plate.
For Marc Ducobu, chocolate isn’t just an ingredient; it's an art form. And, as an award-winning Belgian chocolatier and ‘pastry maverick’, he knows a thing or two about it.
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