Parfait Spheres:
Begin by placing the shallots, garlic and thyme in a container, along with the Madeira, ruby port, white port and brandy.
Cover and allow to marinate in the fridge overnight.
Remove the marinated mixture from the fridge and place in a saucepan. Gently and slowly heat the mixture until nearly all the liquid has evaporated, stirring regularly to prevent the shallots and garlic from catching.
Remove the pan from the heat, discard the thyme and allow the mixture to cool.
Preheat the oven to 100°c/212°f. In the meantime, fill a deep roasting tray two-thirds full with water.
Ensure that it is large and deep enough to hold a terrine dish measuring 26cm wide, 10cm long and 9cm high.
Place the tray in the oven. Place the terrine dish in the oven to warm through while the parfait is prepared.
Preheat a water bath to 50°c/122°f.
To prepare the parfait, cut the foie gras into pieces roughly the same size as the chicken livers.
In a bowl, combine the foie gras and chicken livers and sprinkle with the salt and curing salt.
Mix well to combine and place in a sous-vide bag.
Put the alcohol reduction, along with the egg, in a second sous-vide bag, and the butter in a third bag.
Seal all 3 bags under full pressure and place them in the preheated water bath for 20 minutes.
Carefully remove the bags from the water bath, and place the livers and the egg-alcohol reduction in a deep dish.
Using a hand blender, blitz the mixture well, then slowly incorporate the melted butter.
Blend until smooth. It is important to remember that all three elements should be at the same temperature when combined, to avoid splitting the mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a Thermomix, set the temperature to 50°c/122°f and blend on full power for 3 minutes.
Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a double layer of muslin.
Carefully remove the terrine from the oven, pour in the smooth parfait mixture and place the terrine in the bain-marie.
Check that the water level is the same height as the top of the parfait. Cover the bain-marie with aluminium foil.
After 35 minutes, check the temperature of the centre of the parfait using a probe thermometer. The parfait will be perfectly cooked when the centre reaches 64°c/147°f. This can take up to an hour.
Remove the terrine from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
Remove the terrine from the fridge and take off the clingfilm.
To remove the oxidised layer on top of the parfait, scrape the discoloured part off the surface. Spoon the parfait into a disposable piping bag. Holding the piping bag vertically, spin it gently to ensure all air bubbles are removed.
Place 2 silicone dome-mould trays, each containing 8 hemispheres 5cm in diameter, on a tray.
Piping in a slow, tight, circular fashion, fill the hemispheres with the parfait, ensuring they are slightly overfilled.
Using a palette knife, scrape the surface of the moulds flat, then cover with clingfilm. Gently press the clingfilm on to the surface of the parfait and place the moulds in the freezer until frozen solid.
Taking one tray at a time from the freezer, remove the clingfilm and lightly torch the flat side of the parfait, being careful to only melt the surface. Join the two halves together by folding one half of the silicone mould on to the other half and press gently, ensuring the hemispheres are lined up properly.
Remove the folded half of the mould to reveal a joined-up parfait sphere, and push a cocktail skewer down into it.
Place the moulds back in the freezer for 2 hours (the spheres are easier to handle once frozen solid). Remove them from the mould completely, and smooth any obvious lines with a paring knife.
Wrap the perfectly smooth spheres individually in clingfilm and store in the freezer.
They should be placed in the freezer for at least 2 hours before dipping in the mandarin jelly.
Mandarin Jelly:
Place the glucose and 1kg mandarin purée in a saucepan and gently heat to 50°c/122°f, stirring to dissolve the glucose completely.
Bloom the gelatine by placing it in a container and covering it with cold water.
Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Place the softened gelatine in a fine-mesh sieve and squeeze out all excess water, then add it to the warm mandarin purée.
Stir well until fully dissolved.
Take 250g of the warm purée mixture and add the mandarin essential oil and paprika extract.
Stir gently to combine and add it back to the mandarin mixture. Add the remaining mandarin purée and stir again to fully combine, before passing the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
Allow the mandarin jelly to stand in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours before using.
Herb Oil:
Place the olive oil, herbs and garlic in a sous-vide bag.
Seal under full pressure and refrigerate.
Keep in the fridge for 48 hours before using.
To Serve:
Reserved frozen parfait spheres
Reserved mandarin jelly
Mandarin stalks with leaves
Sourdough bread
Reserved herb oil
To make the fruits, preheat a water bath to 30°c/86°f.
Place the mandarin jelly in a saucepan over a low-to-medium heat and gently melt, ensuring the temperature does not rise above 40°c/104°f. Place the melted jelly in a tall container and place the container in the preheated water bath.
Allow the jelly to cool to 27°c/81°f.
In the meantime, line a tray with kitchen paper covered with a layer of pierced clingfilm.
This will make an ideal base for the parfait balls when they defrost. A block of polystyrene is useful for standing up the parfait spheres once dipped.
Once the jelly has reached the optimal dipping temperature, remove the parfait balls from the freezer.
Remove the clingfilm and carefully plunge each ball into the jelly twice, before allowing excess jelly to run off.
Stand them vertically in the polystyrene and place immediately in the fridge for 1 minute.
Repeat the process a second time. Depending on the colour and thickness of the jelly on the parfait ball, the process may need to be repeated a third time.
Soon after the final dip, the jelly will have set sufficiently to permit handling. Gently remove the skewers and place the balls on the lined tray, with the hole hidden underneath.
Cover the tray with a lid and allow to defrost in the fridge for approximately 6 hours.
To serve, gently push the top of the spheres with your thumb to create the shape of a mandarin. Place a stalk in the top centre of the indent to complete the “fruit”.
Serve each meat fruit with a slice of sourdough bread that has been brushed with herb oil and toasted under the grill.