Julius Roberts’s coffee semifreddo with salted caramel pistachios

This is an absolute showstopper of a dish. Semifreddo is a genius Italian no-churn ice cream that requires no making of custard or snazzy equipment – you just whisk together a silky mousse and freeze it. It has the most pleasing texture, somewhere between marshmallow and nougat, that gets even better as it melts. This one is rich with coffee and vanilla, and studded with these utterly addictive salted caramel pistachios. It might seem like a complex recipe at first glance, and you do need to make a caramel, but these things are easier than they seem and I will show you the way. Once you've got the hang of it you'll be able to play around with the base recipe and make your own versions. Try different nuts, shaving in dark chocolate or ditching the coffee and nuts altogether and folding in a sour cherry compote or other stewed fruit.

(N.B – this one is slightly less suited to making whilst on a Canopy & Stars holiday... unless you fancy packing your balloon whisk)

Ingredients:

(Serves 8-10)

For the caramelised pistachios

• 100g pistachios (ideally with the skins removed)
• 100g caster sugar
• a good pinch of flaky salt

For the semifreddo

• 5 egg whites
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 300ml double cream
• 30ml cold, strong espresso (or some really strong, thick coffee)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C fan and line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking parchment. Toast the pistachios for about 10 minutes, until crisp and crunchy. They burn easily, so set a timer.

2. While the nuts are toasting, pour the 100g of sugar into a wide pan, ideally a silver-coloured pan so you can see the colour of the caramel as it changes. Shake the sugar about so it spreads evenly and place the pan on a medium-high heat.

3. The sugar will begin to melt at the edges and then spread inwards – it's tempting to give it a stir and help it melt evenly, but don't, or it will crystallise. You can give the pan a shimmy and a shake, just no stirring. Watch the colour: at first it will be translucent, then it will begin to caramelise and darken. You're looking for a reddish colour.

4. When the caramel is ready, turn off the heat and pour in the nuts while they're still hot. Having the nuts hot gives you time to stir them through the caramel without it setting too quickly. Add a generous pinch of flaky salt and mix with a spatula to completely coat them in the caramel, then quickly pour on to the lined tray and leave to cool. When set, bash with a rolling pin to break apart the caramelised nuts – don’t turn them to dust, but you don’t want the chunks too big either. Instead of great big clumps, you're looking for individual nuts and halves.

5. From here, the hard work is done and it's plain sailing. Grab a terrine dish or bread tin, roughly 25cm x 10cm, and line it with two or three sheets of cling film – this is vital in getting the semifreddo out later on. Whisk the egg whites in a scrupulously clean bowl until they form stiff peaks. I like to do this by hand with a balloon whisk. The thing with egg whites is that you can overwhisk them, where they go so stiff that they're actually quite hard and almost brittle, which makes the foam tricky to stir through the cream and leaves clumps. You are looking for a silky foaminess that still has movement; if you lift up your whisk it should leave a spike that folds over itself, not a stiff foam that has gone too hard. If you're using a machine, keep a very clear eye on it and the minute the eggs form a trail that leaves that curled spike, they are ready.

6. At this stage, add the sugar little by little while whisking continuously to create a lovely and light meringue. In a separate bowl, scrape out the vanilla pod and add to the double cream, then whip until it thickens and again leaves little ribbons behind the whisk. I feel like I may have made this sound scary, but don't let this put you off, you're just whisking something, it's easy. All I'm saying is that there is a perfect texture to aim for and it's better to be under than over.

7. Carefully fold the pistachios and coffee into the cream, then fold the meringue into the mixture using a spatula. Do this all slowly, little by little, trying to retain as much air as possible. Pour into your prepared dish, fold over the cling film and place in the freezer until it sets. I find it takes at least 6-8 hours and is best made the night before.

8. To serve, simply turn the semifreddo out of the mould, peel off the cling film and slice thickly on a breadboard. Quickly wrap any leftovers back up and place in the freezer for a much-needed boost after a long day.

This is just one of many incredible recipes in Julius's new book, The Farm Table, and it's a hearty, wholesome joyride through the best of every season -- and how to cook using what's local, what's fresh, and what's in season.

Extracted from The Farm Table by Julius Roberts (Ebury Press, £27) Photography by Elena Heatherwick