Vanilla panna cotta with rhubarb and hibiscus

The panna cotta needs at least 4 hours to set so make it first. Bloom the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes

Put the cream, milk and sugar together and warm over a low heat – it needs to be warm enough to melt the gelatine but not hot

Squeeze any excess water from the gelatine and stir it into the warm cream until it has dissolved

Halve the vanilla pods and scrape out the seeds with a sharp knife (keeping the pods for roasted vanilla cream on page 81 of The Changing Tides or to flavour sugar)

Add the seeds to the mixture and put it into the fridge, getting it out to stir occasionally – you want it to be totally chilled (but not set) before you transfer it to your moulds as this will stop the vanilla from sinking to the bottom

Pour the mix into your serving glasses and pop in the fridge for about 4 hours to set

Meanwhile, roughly chop 375g of the rhubarb and mix with the sugar in a heatproof bowl

Tie the hibiscus in a bit of muslin, add it to the bowl and cover with cling film. Set the bowl over a bain-marie and simmer for 2 hours, by which time the rhubarb will be sitting in a pure pink consommé

Squeeze out the hibiscus to get every bit of flavour and colour from it, then strain everything through a muslin into a bowl

Cut the remaining rhubarb into 5mm dice and add to the warm consommé, then put it into the fridge to chill for a couple of hours. When you’re ready to eat, spoon the rhubarb over the panna cotta and serve