Charles Coulombeau, head chef at the restaurant ‘La Maison dans le Parc’ in Nancy and winner of the 2020 Taittinger prize, was so inspired by the revisited folk tales in our latest podcast series that he has come up with four perfect recipes for the Christmas holidays. Visit this page every week for a new recipe.
Inspiration: The Ice Queen
Recipe for 6 people: Frozen clementine parfait, white chocolate ganache and crisp meringue
The perfect cuvee to pair with this recipe: Prélude cuvee
The chef’s comments: “I wanted a frosted effect to give this dessert a suitably snow-covered look at the plating stage. That’s why I introduced the meringue, as it’s very delicate and can be broken into little pieces. The chocolate ganache lends a touch of richness and luxuriousness to the dish, which is exactly what you want from a dessert. People don’t often think about using clementines in Christmas recipes, even though it’s a very nice seasonal fruit. Here it adds a vegetable note rather than a tangy one, which I really like.”
The chef’s tips: “I prepare the meringue the evening before. I bake it at 70/80°C and leave it to cook slowly overnight. By morning, it’s perfect.”
The cuvee: “The pairing was easy here too, I chose this Prélude cuvee with a fresh and fine nose.”
RECIPE
Parfait :
500g clementine juice
50g sugar
125g whipped cream
2 egg yolks
3 gelatine leaves
Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl to whiten the mixture.
Boil the clementine purée then pour into the sugar and egg mixture in several stages. Return the mixture to a low heat and cook until lightly thickened.
Add the gelatine after soaking in cold water. Then leave the mixture in the fridge to cool.
Make whipped cream with a hand mixer then carefully incorporate into the cold clementine mixture as you would with a mousse, without over-whipping the cream.
Pour into your receptacle of choice to give the parfait its shape. Leave to set in the freezer for at least 12 hours before removing from the mould.
Ganache :
130g double cream
100g white chocolate
1 lemon zest
Bring the cream to the boil then pour over the white chocolate in two stages. Once the mixture is smooth, add the grated zest.
Meringue :
75g egg white
75g sugar
15g icing sugar
1 lemon
Beat the egg whites until foamy then gradually incorporate the sugar. Carefully add the icing sugar using a spatula. Spread out onto baking paper, grate the lemon with a zester onto the meringue, then cook in the oven at 60 degrees for at least 3 hours. The meringue should have a brittle texture and be white in colour.
Garnish:
1 clementine
1 lemon
Fresh herbs
Garnish the parfait with some curls of lemon and clementine peel. Add the ganache then cover with meringue.
