Serves 4

These elegant jellies look fantastically decadent at the end of a picnic. They are not difficult to make but are a little time-consuming. They will keep for up to three days in the fridge. You’ll need leaf gelatine to achieve a crystal-clear pale, pink jelly.

700g English rhubarb, washed and roughly chopped into 2cm chunks
100g caster sugar
1l water
250ml champagne or sparkling wine
6 sheets leaf gelatine

1 Place the rhubarb, sugar and water into a large saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Leave for 1 hour.
2 Place a piece of muslin or doubled paper towel in a sieve. Put on top of a large bowl and pour in the rhubarb and juice. Do not force the juice through, but allow it to gradually strain through for a couple of hours, with occasional gentle encouragement using the back of a wooden spoon. You may have to do this in two batches, ending up with approximately 500ml of pale, pink, clear juice.
3 Measure out 500ml of the juice and place in a small pan. Half-fill a bowl with warm water and dip in the sheets of gelatine for a couple of seconds to soften them, then add to the rhubarb juice. Over a gentle heat, carefully warm the juice to allow the gelatine to dissolve (don’t allow it to boil). Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Pour in the champagne, mix well and divide between four serving dishes. Chill for six hours before serving.

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