Sea buckthorn blancmange

Serves 4

Sea buckthorn blancmange (Jason Lowe)

Sea buckthorn shrubs are quite abundant along parts of our coastline but sadly not all that common in shops – I'm predicting, however, that sea buckthorn juice will be the next superfood craze. You can buy it online from Wild and Scottish. Be careful not to go for the brown sea buckthorn oil you find in medicine-like bottles, as that has been pasteurised beyond belief.

For the blancmange

300ml low-cholesterol yogurt drink
Zest of half an orange
90g caster sugar
30ml sea buckthorn juice
2½ leaves (9g) of gelatine

For the jelly

60ml water
50g caster sugar
1 leaf (3g) of gelatine
80ml sea buckthorn juice

To make the blancmange, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for a couple of minutes, then squeeze the water out.

Next bring 50ml of the yogurt and orange zest to the boil with the sugar and stir in the gelatine leaves until dissolved. Now stir in the buckthorn juice and the remainder of the yogurt.

Pour the mix into suitable-sized serving glasses, leaving some space at the top for the jelly; then leave to set in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

To make the jelly, soak the gelatine leaf in cold water for a few minutes until soft, then squeeze out the excess water. Bring the water and sugar to the boil, add the gelatine leaf and stir until dissolved; then stir in the buckthorn juice. Strain the whole thing through a fine sieve and leave to cool.

Finally, pour a thin layer of the mixture on top of the set blancmange and return to the fridge to set once again for a couple of hours, or overnight.