Technique: SPHERIFICATION
Additives: SODIUM ALGINATE, CALCIUM LACTATE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 3/4 cups (670 ml) fresh apricots 
• 1 cup (250 ml) water
• 3/4 (190 ml) Sauvignon blanc
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) honey 
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 3 cups (750 ml) blackberries 
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) honey 
• 1 sachet (2 g) SODIUM ALGINATE 
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) CALCIUM LACTATE 
• 1 cup (250 ml) shelled unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) shelled unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) flaxseeds 
• 1/4 cup (65 ml) sunflower oil
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) honey 

DIRECTIONS

POACHED APRICOTS WITH WINE 

Halve apricots and pit them. In a pot, bring water, wine and honey to a boil, then remove from heat. Add in apricots and rosemary and let sit, at room temperature, for 2 hours (start making blackberry juice spheres 30 minutes in), then refrigerate apricots (discard everything else). Serve cool. 

BLACKBERRY JUICE SPHERES 

Using a juicer, extract juice from blackberries. Filter 3/4 of a cup of the juice. In a blender, combine with honey and calcium lactate until completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into small, demi-spherical molds and let sit in the freezer for 1 hour or until the spheres are frozen (while you wait, make pumpkin & sunflower seed butter.)
In a rectangular, flat-bottomed bowl and using a hand blender, dissolve sodium alginate in water. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Unmold frozen spheres in alginate bath. Let sit for 3 minutes while gently stirring once in a while to prevent the spheres from touching.
Fill a medium-sized bowl with water. Using a slotted spoon, delicately collect the spheres and briefly rinse them in the water, then remove excess water from each sphere by applying a piece of paper towel on the bottom of the spoon. Reserve. 

PUMPKIN & SUNFLOWER BUTTER

In a large pan, toast sunflower and pumpkin seeds on medium heat, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. In a food processor, pulse seeds into a fine grind. Then, continue blending while gradually pouring oil in, until homogenous and smooth (use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture off the food processor’s inner walls). Finally, blend in honey and transfer to a jar. The butter will keep for up to 1 week at room temperature.

ASSEMBLY 

Start with some pumpkin and sunflower seed butter on the bottom of each plate, then top with poached apricot and a blackberry sphere. Respectively garnish with rosemary and purple basil. 

PRODUCTS USED TO CREATE THIS PRODUCT