WAITING FOR SPRING... HONEYED TAPIOCA AND ORANGE CURD PUDDINGS - PUDDINGS DE TAPIOCA AU MIEL ET À L'ORANGE CURD

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.
- George Santayana

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
- Anne Bradstreet

Being someone who tends to feel easily stressed out about nothing and overwhelmed by upsetting situations, I guess it will not come as a revelation if I told you that, very much like cats, I am a creature of habit with little taste for radical or excessive change. Hence, I need stability and don't mind repetitiveness as it gives me a sense of comfort, security and it lets me achieve a certain control over life and helps me focus on what is important.

Of course, adding small amounts of variation to our routine isn't all that bad as it forces us to explore different horizons, take risks and open up to new experiences. Those unforseen events add some contrasting spice to our existence and are a welcome wake-up call when things are getting far too cozy and dangerously monotonous. At the end, it's all a question of finding the right balance between solacing permanence and refreshing novelty - too much of one or the other can be harmful to us.

Well, the same can be said about seasons. Imagine how insipid, boring and sad our days would be without weather fluctations, the perpetual transition of cycles and earth's ever-permutating rhythms. Although, each of us always finds a reason to moan about spring, summer, autumn or winter, I'm pretty sure we'd all go ballistic and suffer from severe depression if it would be Disney-like sunny and warm all the time or if our table was graced week after week with the same vegetables and fruits. Time would seem endless and we'd miss out on the best nature has to offer: the constant and spellbinding metamorphosis of our environment. Simply inconceivable for a lover of climate and agricultural variety like me.

This year, October, November, December, January and Febraury have been wonderfully wintry and extremely generous in snow. I've had a blast walking through the frosty, white and surreal looking countryside surrounding Geneva and I've thouroughly enjoyed staying at home doing some cocooning, but lately, I have grown tired of Jack Frost's icy embrace and now dream of admiring the verdant green scenery during my weekly strolls and fantasize about sitting on the balcony, sipping on a cup of coffee while listening to the mad chirp of sparrows. Besides, I can hardly wait to eat ramsons/ramps, fresh garlic, asparagus, baby carrots, fava beans, rhubarb and strawberries again.

Now that February is behind us and the vernal equinox is approaching, excitement is in the air and people as well as animals are starting to become fidgety. After a long period of cold and dullness, everybody is ready to welcome spring - our savior - with open arms and there's not one living soul who isn't relieved to finally be able to soon turn the page on all the gloom and inclemency of the last months.  

Aaahhh, there's nothing quite like getting caressed by the soft rays of the Easter sun, squinting against the bold late March light, relishing the warm April breeze, experiencing a slight gust of grassy air, being deafened by the enthusiastic carol of the birds and blinded by the flowers in bloom!

So while impatiently waiting for the magical transition to take place and heavy rain replaces snow as Switzerland's landscapes turn brown, I keep myself busy and sane with cooking activities. Within the walls of my humble, yet snug kitchen numerous heartwarming delicacies are created and nothing can affect me - not even the gloom outside; a little corner of paradise and epicurean lair where I can forget about the greyness of the skies above, the ugliness of certain people and leave my fears, worries as well as troubles behind...

Last Saturday, after visiting my favorite Asian supermarkets (Asia Store & Thu Hang in Pâquis, Geneva - for addresses check out this link) and buying a shipload of food (noodles, condiments, sauces, spices, tofu, pastries, etc...), I decided to revisit a childhood classic and prepare a healthy dessert with the tapioca pearls I purchased there and some leftover Tarocco oranges I had in my fruit basket. The result was incredibly pleasing and even P. loved my "Tapioca And Orange Curd Puddings" despite his aversion to this cassava speciality and its weirdly chewy texture.

Those elegant Maroccan flavored verrines are delightfully refreshing, voluptuously creamy, exquisitely fragrant, zestfully citrusy and magnificently balanced with the slight sharpness of the orange curd. An exceptionally good, refined and gluten-free treat which will rejoice tapiocaphiles and tapiocaphobics alike!
 

Honeyed Tapioca And Orange Curd Puddings
Recipe by Rosa Mayland, March 2013.

Makes 6 verrines.

Ingredients For The "Orange Curd":
220ml Freshly squeezed orange juice (Tarocco)
1 Tbs Lemon juice
110g Castor sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tbs Cornflour
2 Tbs Unsalted butter
Ingredients For The "Tapioca Pudding":
3/4 Cup (120g) Small pearl tapioca
1 3/4 Cups (420ml) Milk
1/2 Cup (120ml) Water
1/3 Cup (115g) Light runny honey
1 Tsp Orange blossom water (optional) or pure vanilla extract

Method For The "Orange Curd":
1. In a medium pan, combine all the ingredients together.
2. Put over medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens (custard-like consistency).
3. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
4. Pour equal quantities of the curd into the verrines and let cool while you prepare the tapioca.

Method For The "Tapioca Pudding":
5. In a large saucepan, combine the tapioca, milk, honey and orange blossom water (or vanilla extract) over medium high heat.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
7. Let the mixture cook until the tapioca looks translucent and the pearls are chewy in texture, about 20-30 minutes.
8. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally and divide in between the verrines with the orange curd. Refrigerate the puddings.
9. Just before serving, top with chopped nuts or decorative sugar.

Remarks:
You can also make orange curd with Moro or Navel oranges or just replace the orange curd by any other curd of your choice (lemon, rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry, etc...).
If you want your tapioca puddings to be a little richer, then replace the water by single or double cream.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as dessert or as afternoon treat with some jasmine tea.

Puddings De Tapioca Au Miel Et À l'Orange Curd
Recette par Rosa Mayland, Mars 2013.
 
Pour 6 verrines.

Ingrédients Pour "l'Orange Curd":
220ml de Jus d'orange (Tarocco) fraîchement pressé
1 CS de Jus de citron
110g Sucre cristallisé
2 Oeufs
1 CS de Maïzena
2 CS de Beurre non-salé
Ingrédients Pour Le "Pudding De Tapioca":
120g (3/4 tasse) de Tapioca (perles du Japon)
420ml de Lait
120ml d'Eau
115g de Miel clair liquide
1 CC d'Eau de fleur d'oranger (facultatif) ou d'extrait de vanille pure

Méthode Pour "l'Orange Curd":
1. Dans une casserole moyenne, mélanger tous les ingrédients ensemble.
2. Faire chauffer à feu moyen et remuer constamment jusqu'à ce que le mélange épaississe (il doit avoir la consistance d'un custard).
3. Retirer du feu et incorporer le beurre.
4. Verser le curd (en quantités égales) dans le fond des verrines et laisser refroidir pendant que vous préparez le pudding.

Méthode Pour Le "Pudding De Tapioca":
5. Dans une grande casserole, mélanger ensemble le tapioca, le lait, le miel et l'eau de fleur d'oranger (ou la vanille), puis faire chauffer à feu moyennement élevé.
6. Porter à ébullition et réduire la température.
7. Faire cuire à feu doux jusqu'à ce que le tapioca soit translucide et que les perles soient tendre, pendant environ 20-30 minutes.
8. Laisser refroidir à la température ambiante, en remuant de temps en temps et verser dans les verrines (sur l'orange curd et en quantités égales). Réfrigérer les puddings.
9. Juste avant de servir, garnir de noix hachées ou de sucre décoratif.

Remarques:
Vous pouvez également fabriquer votre orange curd avec des oranges Moro ou Navel, ou bien tout simplement remplacer l'orange curd par le curd de votre choix (citron, rhubarbe, fraise, framboise, etc ..).
Si vous voulez que votre pudding au tapioca soit un peu plus riche, remplacez l'eau par de la crème légère ou double.

Idée de présentation:
Servir pour le dessert ou à l'heure du goûter avec du thé au jasmin.

MOUHALABIEH - LEBANESE MILK FLANS

Being a person who likes all kinds of spices and special flavors, I am very attracted to Middle Eastern food. I can really relate to the tastes found in this refined cuisine...

A few weeks ago, I went to a cool place called Yo'Mo Lounge which is situated on Geneva's left bank and has a a splendid view of the lake and English Garden (Jardin Anglais).

This unusual place positively suprised me and made a very good impression on me. I really enjoyed their fine East-meets-West (Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, European) cuisine which is presented in a stylish, aesthetic and stunning way, efficient service, friendly staff and their bright magical Alice-in-Wonderland-like setting as well as warm comfortable atmosphere. Very charming!

There, I ate the most exquisite falafel and kanafeh, and my friend Corinne had a wonderful fattoush salad and "Mouhalabieh" which was accompanied by Arabic coffee. This place totally inspired me and made me want to experiment a little with that kind of food. So, for a start, I decided to try making that luscious Lebanese milk flan called "Mouhalabieh".

This authentic Lebanese dessert is really delicious and quite easy to make. There's not much fussing around and the end result is fantastic. As it mostly made with milk, this delightful speciality has the advantage of being quite light, thus it is the perfect kind of dessert you'd want to eat if you've had a hearty meal. Not forgetting that it is also very refreshing, so it is a good summer option when served together with a fruit salad (strawberries, apples, oranges, etc...).

"Mouhalabieh" is a heavenly sweet treat that has an exotic as well as a delicate flavor and isn't overly sugary. It's flan-like and melt-in-the-mouth texture is extremely pleasant. It is definitely a pretty and sublime speciality that brings that wow factor to the table, but doesn't demand much energy and time to make. Perfect!

~ Mouhalabieh or Lebanese Milk Flans ~
Recipe by Bigmousse at "Le Palais Des Délices" (France) and adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums.

Makes about 8 flans.

Ingredients for the "Flans":
4 Cups Milk (3.5 % fat)
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
3/4 Cups Castor sugar
1 Tbs Orange blossom water
1 Handful pistacchios, roasted and chopped
Ingredients for the "Syrup":
4 Tbs water
2 Hibiscus flowers (optional)
2 Tbs Rosewater
8 tbs Castor sugar

Method for the "Flans":
1. In a medium pan, mix together the milk, sugar and cornstarch. Whisk well until the cornstarch has been disolved.
2. While constantly whisking the mixture, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and cook for 1 minute more.
3. Once the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and add the orange blossom water.
4. Pour the mixture into the small flan moulds.
5. Set aside, in the refrigerator, for about 3 hours.
Method for the "Syrup":
6. Very briefly boil the water and add the hibiscus flowers.
7. Remove from the heat and let infuse for about 30 minutes.
8. Mix together the hibiscus water, sugar and rose water, then bring to the boil and remove from the heat once the sugar has been entirely dissolved.
9. Serve imediately with the flans or let cool and put in the refrigerator in order to serve cold over the flans.

Remarques:
If you don't want to use a natural coloring like hibiscus flowers, just use the same quantity water and add red food coloring.

Idées de présentation:
Unmold the flans, drizzle the cold or warm syrup over them and sprinkle with the chopped pistacchios.
Serve with either tea, Turkish/Greek coffee or Arabic coffee.

***************

~ Mouhalabieh ou Flans Libanais Au Lait ~
Recette par Bigmousse de "Le Palais Des Délices" (France) et adaptée épar Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums.

Pour environ 8 petits flans.

Ingrédients pour les "Flans":
4 Mesures de lait
1/2 Mesure de Maizena (fleur de maïs)
3/4 Mesure de Sucre semoule/cristallisé
1 CS d'Eau d'eau de fleurs d'oranger
1 Poignée de pistaches grillées et concassées
Ingrédients pour le "Sirop":
4 CS d'Eau
2 Boutons de fleur d'hibiscus
2 CS d'Eau de rose
8 CS de Sucre semoule/cristallisé

Méthode pour les "Flans":
1. Dans une casserole mettre le lait avec le sucre et la fleur de maïs, fouettez pour bien diluer le tout et obtenir un mélange homogène, puis porter sur le feu en remuant avec une cuillère en bois sans arrêt pour que les grumeaux ne se forment pas.
2. Lorsque le mélange s'épaissit retirer du feu, ajouter l'eau de fleurs d'oranger et répartir dans des ramequins de service.
3. Mettre au frais pendant au moins 3 heures.
Méthode pour le "Sirop":
4. Chauffer l'eau et ajouter les fleurs d'hibiscus.
5. Eteindre le feu et laisser infuser pendant 30 minutes.
6. Mélanger l'infusion, le sucre et l'eau de rose, puis faire bouillir légèrement le tout quelques instants jusqu'à ce que le sucre soit dissous.
7. Servir immédiatement sur les flans ou mettre au frigo afin d'utiliser ce sirop froid.

Remarques:
Si vous ne voulez pas utiliser un colorant naturel comme l'hibiscus, alors utilisez la même quantité d'eau mais ajoutez un colorant rouge à votre sirop.

Idées de présentation:
Au moment de servir, enrober les flans avec du sirop tiède ou froid et décorer avec les pistaches concassées.
Servir avec du thé ou un café turque/grecque ou arabe.