Served chilled, this is a refreshing summer dessert.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 litres apple juice
15g agar-agar flakes [1]
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel
5 tablespoons tahini [2]
a whole vanilla pod

Method:
1. Put the apple juice, agar-agar flakes and lemon peel into a medium saucepan, and leave to soak for 10-15 minutes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer 3-5 minutes. Stir the custard every now and then with a wooden spoon until the agar-agar flakes have completely dissolved. When the flakes have completely dissolved, take it off the heat.

2. Put the tahini into a small bowl. Gradually add about 100ml of hot juice, stirring as you add it. When the tahini reaches a thin, creamy consistency, add it to the pot and stir it in. Slice the vanilla pod along its length, and scrape out the seeds. Mix this seedy paste into the custard.

3. Rinse a shallow bowl or casserole dish in water, then pour in the hot liquid. Leave to cool until it’s firm. This will take a couple of hours. Zap the mixture in a blender until smooth. Leave the custard in a bowl in the fridge, then serve either on its own or as a topping for other desserts, like apple crumble.

Recipe adapted from Peter and Montse Bradford’s book Cooking With Sea Vegetables