Poached Pears
- 2 small, firm pears
- 750ml water
- 250ml white wine
- 300g sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 1 vanilla pod
- 2 cloves
Yka Leaf Commemorative Wreath
Yka Leaf Commemorative Wreath
180 min
For Remembrance Sunday
Ingredients
Pomegranate & Yka Leaves Jelly
- 3 large pomegranates or 300ml fresh pomegranate juice
- 100ml Yka Leaves syrup
- 2.4g xantham gum
- 2.4g agar agar
Yka Leaves Syrup
- 100g sugar
- 150ml water
- 10 Yka Leaves
Toasted Almonds
- 20g almonds
Dehydrated Yka Leaves
- 5 Yka Leaves
Vanilla Mascarpone
- 100g mascarpone
- 1 vanilla pod
- 20g icing sugar
- 1/4 lemon squeezed
Plating
- 2 different punnets Cornarbria Blossom
- 1 punnet Honny Cress
- 1 punnet Vene Cress
Method
Dehydrated Yka Leaves
Firstly separate the three leaves from five individual Yka Leaves and lay flat on a dehydrator tray. Add an additional mesh to sandwich them between and dehydrate at about 45C for a few hours.
Poached Pears
Combine pear poaching liquor ingredients and bring to the boil. Peel pears and poach gently for about 20 minutes. They should be tender but still firm enough to handle. Leave to cool in the liquid.
Yka Leaves Syrup
Combine the sugar and water for the Yka syrup and bring to the boil, whisk in 10 individual Yka Leaves and continue whisking until colour has been imparted but before they turn brown, strain through a chinois and leave to cool.
Yka Leaves & pomegranate jelly
Blend together 100ml of Yka syrup with the 300ml pomegranate juice. Using a stick blender, disperse agar agar into the liquid. Pass through a fine strainer and skim off the bubbles. You can also vacuum seal to remove bubbles.
Bring mixture to the boil (above 90C) and then leave to cool slightly. Using the stick blender, add the Xantham. Leave mixture to settle for a few minutes and then skim off any residual bubbles or foam.
Pour mixture into silicone moulds of your choosing, preferably 2 different shapes and sizes. Set in the fridge until needed.
Vanilla Mascarpone
Scrape the vanilla pod and mix together with the icing sugar and mascarpone.
Toasted Almonds
Toast or caramelise almonds ready for plating.
Yka Leaves Powder
Blend or crumble a few dehydrated Yka Leaves and pass through sieve to form a powder.
In these challenging times…
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
