W Retreat & Spa Bali
If this colourful creation wasn’t sat in our dessert section, you could mistake Director of Cuisine, Richard Millar’s Peanut Butter Parfait for a savoury starter. Neat cubes of compressed pineapple look like chunks of warm potato, while a soft coconut foam looks like a whip of sour cream. The peanut butter parfait itself could even pass for a chicken liver pâté, until you bite into this ingenious creation and taste the delicate sweetness in each bite. I use the word “delicate” here beca use this dessert isn’t a sugar overload – after all, it’s based on the sweet-meets-savoury childhood favourite of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And just like the American-style treat, this dessert is a subtle mix of contrasting flavours that marry together superbly. The peanut butter parfait is mostly made from an ice cream base, then it is topped with a couple of cubes of rosella jelly to balance out the intense peanut flavours. Two dehydrated crisps of passionfruit and ginger help to pep it all up with a hint of a citrusy spice, while adding a nice crunch to the other buttery textures. We just love how this dessert tricks the taste buds, then satisfies them with a mix of sweet and savoury, light and rich, smooth and crunchy… (www.whotels.com)
Chef Story: Richard Millar
“This dessert takes me back to my early years and my love of peanut butter & jelly (or jam). Affectionately known as PB&J, it is often used in sandwiches or biscuits. Although it originated in North America, it has been a favourite in Australia since I was a kid – I just loved the combination, texture and its appeal as a comfort food. So, for my Peanut Butter Parfait I tried to create similar flavours, while adding the W touch to give it the modern look and taste with the addition of coconut, passionfruit, pineapple & rosella. Most of the ingredients are sourced locally including the coconut, the sugar pineapples (from Bedugul), rosella (from East Bali) and the passionfruit which I grow in my garden here at The W.”
