Orange-blossom panna cotta with orange, date and pomegranate salad

Serves 6 A good panna cotta should be a miracle of cream, milk and prayers, and as little gelatin as you can possibly get away with, if you want a seductive wobble. This is inspired by the fragrant flavours of the Middle East. For the salad — 200g caster sugar — 1 cinnamon stick — 3 strips orange rind — 1 tsp orange-blossom water — 4 oranges, peeled and sliced — 10 Medjool dates, seeded

quartered lengthways — the seeds from

1 pomegranate — 30g pistachios, chopped For the panna cotta — 150ml full-fat milk — 600ml double cream — 3 strips lemon rind — 4 sheets gelatin — 2 tsp orange-blossom water — 150g caster sugar — lemon juice, as needed To make the salad, combine the caster sugar, cinnamon and orange rind in a pan with 125ml water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, until syrupy. Take off the heat and add the orange-blossom water. Allow to cool slightly, then pour over the oranges and dates and leave to soak overnight.

For the panna cotta, gently heat the milk and cream with the lemon rind and simmer until the mixture has reduced by about a third. Be careful not to let it boil.

Put the gelatin in a bowl and cover with water. Leave to soak for about 15 minutes.

Add the orange-blossom water and sugar to the cream, and lemon juice to taste – just enough to cut through the richness and stop the flower water being cloying.

Lift the gelatin out of the water and squeeze out the excess liquid. Add to the cream and stir to help the sugar and gelatin dissolve (the cream needs to be warm for this).

Ladle the cream into six small trifle glasses or dariole moulds. Leave to cool, then put in the fridge to set.

Turn out the panna cottas. Mix the pomegranate seeds into the salad, and serve together, sprinkled with chopped pistachios.