“On a trip to WA, we had a night out at Bistro Felix, rounded off by the oh-so-delicious date, fig and mousse dessert. Would Damien Young be willing to pass on the recipe?”
Davina Coles, via email
To request a recipe, write to Fare Exchange, , GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email us. All requests should include the restaurant’s name and address or business card, as well as your name and address.
Ingredients
Roast dates
Method
Main
1.Whisk egg yolks in an electric mixer until thick and pale (5-7 minutes). Combine honey and 75ml water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until combined. Bring to the boil (be careful not to boil over) and cook until syrup reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer (7-10 minutes). With motor running, gradually pour syrup over yolks (reserving about 2 tbsp in saucepan). Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to reserved syrup, stir to dissolve, then add to yolk mixture, whisking continuously until cold (7-10 minutes). Gently fold through cream, then spoon mousse into a 1.5-litre container, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set (1-2 hours).
2.For roast dates, preheat oven to 180C. Bring a small saucepan of water and ground spices to the boil. Add dates, then remove from heat and stand for 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel, remove seeds and place in a small baking dish. Combine fruit juices, sugar, cardamom pods, 225ml water and 1 tsp salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour over dates, cover with aluminium foil and roast until tender (6-8 minutes). Remove from oven, remove foil and cool completely in syrup. Remove dates with a slotted spoon and strain syrup through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Bring syrup back to the boil over medium heat and cook until reduced by half (15-20 minutes). Add olive oil and whisk to combine.
3.Serve quenelles of honey mousse with roast dates and figs scattered with hazelnuts and drizzled with spiced syrup.
