Red-Hot Chili Berries

From the new cookbook Cuisinier Gascon

I often think of the flavors and colors of Bordeaux and the Basque country as all red and spicy, and these have become the inspiration for one of our more exciting desserts combining piquillo peppers with fruits and cream. We also make thin tuile sheets with peppers and sugar served as a sandwich with fresh raspberries, flavor Chantilly cream with them and freeze them in a granita.

Serves 4

1. Make the granita. Place the 40g piquillos in a small blender with 125 ml water, the caster sugar, lemon juice, and a good pinch of Espelette. Whizz until very smooth, then scoop out into a small freezerproof box and freeze, stirring with a fork two or three times as it freezes down to crush the ice mixture.

2. For the tuiles, pat the piquillos dry with paper towel, then blitz in a blender or food processor with the icing sugar. Reserve a tablespoon of the pulp and set aside. Heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

3. Line a flat baking sheet with a silicone cooking mat. Using a thin palette knife, spread the remaining piquillos paste over the mat in a wafer-thin sheet, ensuring there are no holes.

4. Then bake for 9-10 minutes until the paste hardens. Tear a sheet of non-sticking baking parchment and lay on the worktop.

5. Up-end the silicone mat with the tuiles mixture upside down on the paper and using a palette knife, prise off the sheet of pepper mix onto the paper and allow to dry. Then break or cut into eight even-sized pieces to match the size of your dessert or side plates.

6. When ready to serve, remove the granita from the freezer to soften a little. Whip the cream and when thick stir in the reserved piquillos purée, plus a little extra icing sugar to sweeten, if liked. Set this spiced Chantilly cream aside. Lay four broken tuiles on four plates, scatter with the berries, then dollop the piquillos Chantilly cream over the berries and finish with another piece of tuile.

7. Scrape shavings of granita with a spoon and put onto each plate, alongside small spoonfuls of jam if desired.

INGREDIENTS

100g piquillos peppers, drained weight
50g icing sugar + a little extra to sweeten
150 ml double cream
250g fresh raspberries

GRANITIA INGREDIENTS

40g piquillos peppers
25g caster sugar
Juice ½ lemon
Good pinch Espelette pepper

From Cuisinier Gascon: Meals from a Gascon Chef, by Pascal Aussignac. Buy the book