Kerstin Rodgers aka Ms Marmite Lover is something of a local celebrity in the London food scene in part thanks to her Underground Restaurant, what others call Supper Club or Speakeasy Restaurant.
In March 2011, her first book titled Supper Club combining a guide to Supper Clubs the world over with a number of cocktails and recipes was published by Harper Collins in the UK.
Here's a recipe from Supper Club that will be a visual treat for Valentine's Day.
Flower Ice Bowl
This is a beautiful way to present ice cream. You will need 2 glass bowls (don’t use ceramic, I ruined two good mixing bowls when they split in the freezer), one of which fits into the other, leaving a gap of about 2-3cm (1-1 ¼ in) all round. Collect some flowers; I use pink and white geraniums and roses, and some herb sprigs with distinctive leaves, like rosemary. I put the roses at the bottom of the larger glass bowl, with some ice cubes to separate the flowers from each other and also to create a large enough gap at the bottom so that the resulting ice bowl will be strong. I then arrange the rest of the flowers and herbs artfully up the sides of the larger glass bowl. To keep the flowers in position, I brush some egg white onto the flower before sticking it down.
I then place the second, slightly smaller bowl into the larger one with the flowers, weighing it down if necessary. I fill the space left between the two bowls three-quarters full with boiled and cooled mineral water. (This process is to remove calcium from the water for a clear, glasslike look.)
Place the bowls carefully in the freezer. In fact, I’d pour in the water next to the freezer so that you don’t have far to go and risk spilling it. After a few hours, top up the water around the rim, adding more flowers if necessary. Continue to freeze.
Remove the bowls from the freezer and turn them, both together, upside down in the sink. Run
some hot water over the base, and they will come apart easily, releasing the ice flower bowl from
the space between them. Don’t let the hot water run for too long, just enough to loosen, or your
whole ice bowl will melt!
To use ice bowls at the table, you will need a large shallow bowl sat underneath to catch the water
as it melts. The bowls last at least a couple of hours, depending on the temperature of the room.
(* Recipe from Supper Club by Kerstin Rodgers published in March 2011 by Harper Collins UK, photo by Jason Lowe)
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