Heston Blumenthal has a number of iconic dishes associated with him: snail porridge, hot and cold nitro tea, and meat fruit. I’ve had a go at making meat fruit before, but I wondered… could it be done on a budget? Can I make Michelin-starred food using only Aldi ingredients?

Well in short… yes! Just using two ingredients we can have a really good crack at the signature dish. The original recipe via Historic Heston involves simmering chicken livers and butter together, before blending with cream and marinated onions and garlic. This is piped into a mould. The frozen pate is then encased in a mixture of oranges blitzed with gelatine and brought to the right temperature.

You’ll need to get yourself a silicone mould of a spherical shape; silicone so it can be ‘popped out’ when set. They are inexpensive – try your local discount shop in town in the kitchen section – and of course can be used for cakes and other baking as well.

It took a bit of fiddling and getting the ratios just right, but I’m really happy with the end result. Give it a go, serve with your favourite toast, and let me know how you get on!

meat fruit on a budget

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Course Starter

Cuisine British

Servings 1 fruit

Equipment

• spherical moulds
• piping nozzle optional
• probe or jam thermometer

Ingredients

  

• 175 g smooth pate
• 270 g orange jelly

Instructions

 

• Push the pate into a silicone mould, Don't quite fill them to the top, leave a small gap so they can be pushed together to form a sphere. Cover with film and freeze for at least 3 hours.
• Cut up the jelly and add it along with exactly 135 boiling water to a saucepan. Stir briskly over a low heat until completed dissolved, and then decant to a tall container like a jug to cool.
• While the jelly cools, assemble your sphere. Pop them out of your moulds and gently heat both flat surfaces. Press them together and hold to seal. Using the heat of your hands, smooth over any cracks and bumps then return it to the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
• Once the jelly solution gets to 30°C you're ready to work, and you'll need to work fairly quickly before the jelly sets further. I recommend impaling the bottom of the frozen sphere on a piping nozzle, then inserting a skewer into the bottom of that. Dip the pate into your jelly mix, coating really well. Put the skewer into a paper cup or piece of polystyrene and put into the fridge for 1 minute just to set the surface. Get the pate out, dip again, and fridge again. You may need to repeat up to 3 or 4 times until you're happy with the finish. Allow to set for a full hour before serving. Garnish with a bay leaf if you wish.

Video

Notes

Change up the shape and the jelly and you could have even more interesting little surprises: cherries maybe?