Strawberry and rose petal Eton mess

This is Eton mess, NOPI style. It’s both a wow of a pudding and – given that all the elements can be made in advance and just put together at the last minute – is also a very relaxing one to serve to friends. The dried rose petals look lovely sprinkled on top but don’t worry if you can’t get hold of any: the advantage of having the word “mess” in its title is that there is very little pressure to perform on the presentation front. Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

160g mascarpone cheese 270g crème fraîche 15g icing sugar, sifted 1¼ tsp rose water 40g caster sugar 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses 1 tsp sumac 200g strawberries, hulled and chopped into 2cm pieces 60g meringues (shopbought is fine), broken roughly into 2cm pieces Seeds of 1 medium pomegranate (100g) 2 tsp dried rose petals (optional)

For the strawberry sorbet

40g caster sugar 40g icing sugar 30g liquid glucose 200g strawberries, hulled and blitzed into a purée

METHOD

of boiling water and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the pomegranate molasses and sumac, stir to combine and set aside.

When ready to serve, divide the strawberries between four bowls or glasses, followed by the meringue, rose water cream and half the sumac syrup. Top with the pomegranate seeds and a dessertspoon of sorbet. Finish with the remaining syrup and the rose petals and serve at once. Recipes extracted from NOPI: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully, Ebury Press, £28