Kefir, Honey Ice Cream and Walnut Meringue Recipe

If you plan to make your own kefir, place the kefir mother in a clean glass jar with the milk. Cover the mouth of the jar with muslin and keep it in place with an elastic band. Leave at room temperature for a couple of days, then strain the liquid from the mother. If you rinse the mother in warm water, you can use it again to make a new batch of kefir. Transfer the liquid into another clean glass jar and leave to ferment for 21 days

To prepare the chamomile syrup and gel, bring the water and sugar to the boil in a pan, add the chamomile tea and leave to steep overnight. Strain the liquid and reserve half for the pears. Bring the remaining half of liquid to the boil, add the gelatine and stir until dissolved. Pour into a container and leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours

To make the kefir cream, whisk together 300g of kefir with 80g of mascarpone until smooth

For the honey ice cream, combine the milk and cream in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, bee pollen and honey until the yolks are thick and pale. Slowly add the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture whilst whisking constantly. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and bring the whole mixture to 83°C. Strain through a sieve and into a bowl placed in an ice bath. When the mixture is cool churn in an ice cream machine, then set aside in the freezer

To prepare the pears, halve them then thinly slice lengthwise. Place the slices in the chamomile syrup and leave to marinate for 3 hours

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3

To make the meringue, allow the egg whites to come to room temperature. Combine the flour, walnuts and 100g of the sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they start to become frothy. Add the remaining 30g of sugar, and continue to whisk until the egg whites form stiff peaks. In three batches, gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Pour the mixture onto a lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, then set aside and leave to cool

To serve, place 2 tbsp of the kefir cream in the base of a wide bowl. Arrange 2 small spoonfuls of chamomile jelly, a large spoon of walnut meringue and 3–5 slices of pear around the plate. Quenelle a round of honey ice cream and place in the middle of the plate, in between the meringue and the gel. Garnish the dish with a few edible flower petals