Rhubarb with chocolate is a winning combination for me as the acid, tart flavours of the rhubarb works so well with a really high quality, rich dark chocolate.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS; (X servings)

2 kilos rhubarb to make 1/4pt of puree

9 egg yolks

200 gms caster sugar

1/4 pt double cream

1/4 pt rhubarb puree

3 leaves of gelatine

100 mls Sauternes

15 gms trimolene (or glucose)

Chocolate sauce

300 gms dark chocolate (See my recommendation)

200 gms cocoa butter

Method

To make rhubarb puree:

Peel rhubarb and chop small. Cook down with the wine and 50 gms of sugar until the rhubarb is soft. Place into muslin, tie with string and allow the juice to drain retaining the juice – the resulting puree should be quite dry.

To make rhubarb sauternes sorbet

Take the rhubarb juice and add 15 gms of trimolene (or glucose). Freeze in a sorbet machine or container.

Mix the egg yolks in an electric mixer with balloon whisk on medium speed for 10 to12 minutes until light in colour and doubled in size. Put the sugar in a thick bottomed pan, cover with cold water (approx _ pint) and boil to 120 degrees to soft ball stage. Beating egg mixture very slowly pour in the hot syrup. Continue to beat slowly for 30 seconds. Turn back up to full speed and whisk for a further 5 minutes. This will cook the eggs.

Soak the gelatine in cold water. Heat approximately 50 mls of the rhubarb syrup and dissolve the gelatine in it. Pour this mixture into the puree and fold into the egg mixture.

Whip the cream very lightly but keep to a pouring consistency. Fold the cream into egg and puree mixture, set some aside and pour the remainder into moulds (preferably half sphere). Skim the top with a palette knife and freeze. After a couple of hours top up each mould with some of the reserved mixture, still keeping some back.

Freeze for at least 8 hours.

To make the chocolate sauce

Mix 10_ ounces (300g) dark Valrhona chocolate with

7 ounces (200g) cocoa butter. Melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over hot water.

Take out and scoop a "parisienne" out of the centre of each mould and fill with the remaining puree. If using spheres put two together and spray with chocolate.

To serve

Lift out 5 minutes prior to serving to allow the parfait to begin to soften. Serve with the rhubarb sorbet.

The Devonshire Arms

Bolton Abbey

Skipton

North Yorkshire

BD23 6AJ

England

Chocolate Traveller Notes

I would recommend the Valrhona Guanaja 70% dark chocolate bar (70g) or our own Venezuela Noir 70% dark chocolate bar (100g), Amedei 70% or the Michel Cluizel 72% chocolate drops. Anything over 75% cocoa content would fight a little in my opinion and anything lower may perhaps become overly sweet and lose a depth of flavour.