Roquefort macaron, pickled walnuts and Martell

1. Sieve together the icing sugar and the ground almonds into a mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg whites with the salt until they form soft peaks. Add the caster sugar and continue whisking until they form a very thick and glossy meringue.
3. Gently stir in the icing sugar and almond mix. The mixture will lose some air and will become a bit loose. Poor into a piping bag with a 0.6cm nozzle.
4. In a tray with silicone mat or baking paper pipe small blobs around 3cm diameter. Gently tap the baking sheet a few times on the work surface to help the macaron mixture to settle and to break any air bubbles, then leave to dry for 30 minutes - the surface of the macaron will become smooth and shiny.
5. Bake the macaroons in a preheated 140°C oven for 7 - 8 minutes minutes, open the door to release any steam, close the oven door and cook for a further 7 - 8 minutes. The macaroons are cooked when they feel firm and are slightly risen. Do not be tempted to remove the macarons from the mat until they are cold or you will break them.

For the Roquefort filling

• 140g Roquefort
• 60g unsalted butter

1. Brake with your hands 140g of cold Roquefort and mix it with 60g of soft unsalted butter.
2. Place the mix between two greaseproof papers and with the assistance of a rolling pin spread it to a 0.5cm thickness. Place it in the fridge to set hard and then cut it with a round ring at the same diameter as your macaroons.
3. To assemble the macaroons place one ring of Roquefort mix between 2 macaroon shells and leave them in room temperature for at least 20min. before you serve.

Martell sauce

• 100ml of walnut pickling juice
• 20ml of Martell Cognac
• 10g Red currant jelly
• 2gr Xantam gum

Blend very well all together with a hand blender and pass through a fine chinois.

For the Rancio jelly

• 100ml of Rancio
• Gelatine leaves

Warm up 100ml of Rancio or dry Sherry and add 2 gelatine leaves soaked firstly in iced water. Poor it in a small container and place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.

Plating

In a flat white plate drizzle some Martell sauce, put 3 macaroons on the plate and scatter around some small pieces of the jelly.