Colin Fassnidge’s Poached rhubarb granita with cream cheese recipe

METHOD

1. To make cream cheese, in a small bowl beat cream until stiff peaks form, set aside.
   In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Keep cool.
2. To make granita; peel rhubarb, keep aside stalks, put the rest of the trimmings into a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil until water changes to a nice red colour.
3. Discard the trimmings and poach rhubarb stalks by adding the rest of the ingredients to the stock (except for lemon juice). Bring to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes, or until rhubarb is just tender.
4. Take out the rhubarb and set aside. Discard ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick and vanilla. Use the remaining stock for the granita, taste and add a squeeze of lemon if needed to sharpen. Drain into a container.
5. Freeze stock for up to 6 hours. When solid, take out of freezer, leave for 10 minutes then scrape with a fork to form a granita.
6. To serve, arrange rhubarb and piped cream cheese on a plate and top liberally with granita.