Delectable Dessets -White Chocolate, Lime, Fennel, and Green Apple by Chef Paolo Barrale

Here’s a dessert from Chef Paolo Barrale which really shows his Sicilian roots.  A lime granita with a white chocolate mousse.  It was a hit at his cooking class held at Marennà earlier this month.

Ingredients for 4: 

Mousse:40 cl of milk, 1 lime, 75 gr of white chocolate, 1.5 gr of gelatin, 75 cl of whipping cream

Granita:  500 cl of green apple juice, 5 cl of lime juice, 20 cl of absinthe,2 gr gelatin, 1 green apple, 1 fennel, 100 gr sugar, 100 cl water

Directions:

Mousse: In a small pan, heat the milk, add the chocolate and le it melt.  Soak the gelatin in cold water in a small bowl.  Squeeze out the excess water and add it to the chocolate mixture.  Grate the lime peel and add it as well.

Whip the cream and add a small amount to the chocolate mixture. Warm the mousse to 30°C and stir vigorously.  Add the remaining whipped cream and stir delicately, from the top down.  Place in the refrigerator.

Granita:  In a small pan, heat the absinthe and lime juice.  In the meantime, soak the gelatin in cold water in a small bowl.  Squeeze out the excess water and add it to the mixture.  Pour into a mold and freeze.  Every now and then, grate the surface with a fork.  Cut the apple into small cubes and set aside. Slice the fennel into 2mm slices and blanch in a small amount of acidulated water.  Prepare a syrup with water and sugar. Place the fennel in the syrup for a few minutes.  Store in the refrigerator.

Plating:  In a deep dish, place 2 spoonfuls of the granite, cover with a scoop of the chocolate mousse.  Garnish with the apple cubes and fennel.

Chef Barrale paired this dessert with Feudi di San Gregorio's  DUBL Aglianico, Spumante Metodo Classico