Turned onto - sherry wine
I received a sherry wine book entitled, The Perfect Marriage - The art of matching food and sherry wines from Jerez from some contacts at a PR agency. One of their clients is the sherry producers of Jerez. In an hour I learned quite a bit about sherry wines and how it is not a drink just for your gran anymore - it is a versatile wine for us to pair with fabulous food dishes. Here is a recipe from the book. Enjoy!

Chocolate Delice With Sherry Prunes & Vanilla Cream

Best paired with: Cream, Moscatel, Pedro Ximénez Sherry

Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes, plus 8 hours chilling
serves 6

Ingredients

• 12 prunes, stoned and halved
  
• 150 ml cold water
  
• 4 tablespoons PX sherry
  
• 2 handfuls of Raspberries

For the delice

• 75 g free range egg yolks
  
• 100 g caster sugar
  
• 300 g full fat milk
  
• 250 g double cream
  
• 200 g dark chocolate, chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons PX sherry

For the vanilla cream

• 200 ml double cream
  
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or 2 tablespoons caster sugar and 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)

Method

Place the prunes in a small pan with the cold water. bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, gently stirring twice. add the sherry and simmer for 2–3 minutes, until the cooking liquid thickens, then leave to cool. Chill, covered, in the fridge.

Meanwhile to make the delice, whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar until pale in colour. Place the remaining sugar in a pan with the milk and cream and bring to a simmer.

Pour the hot cream over the egg yolks, whisking continuously, then return to the pan and cook over a moderate heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon.

Place the chocolate and sherry into a metal bowl, pour the hot custard mixture over and gently mix it together until the chocolate melts. Pour through a sieve into a clean bowl. Press some baking parchment on to the surface of the delice and leave to cool. Chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours to set.

To make the vanilla cream whisk the double cream and sugar until it forms soft peaks. Chill in the fridge.

To assemble, use 6 small glass bowls or martini glasses and place a raspberry or a few raspberries in the bottom of each. divide the vanilla cream amongst them. top each with a spoonful of cooked prunes and then a quenelle of the delice. drizzle each dessert with a few teaspoons of the prune liquid.

Tip to quenelle the delice, half fill a heatproof jug with very hot water. sit a dessertspoon in it to warm up – ideally a spoon with a half egg-shaped hollow. run the hot and still slightly damp spoon across the top of the delice, slightly digging it in as you drag it along. the delice should roll up into the spoon and give you an egg-shaped quenelle.