Gratin of Fresh Fruit Sabayon

Gratin of Fresh Fruit Sabayon
You can use any combination of fruits for this delicious gratin.

1/2 small pineapple, peeled, cored and eyes removed
3 large bananas, sliced and sprinkled with some lemon or calamansi juice
1/4 melon, peeled and sliced
1 pomelo (suha) segments, peeled and white membrane removed

for the sabayon:
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar + 1/4 cup water
1 whipping cream
4 tbsp Cointreau

Combine fruits in a large baking pan.

Heat sugar and water until sugar has melted. Whip egg yolks. Gradually add hot syrup and continue whipping until cooled. Add Cointreau.

Whip cream to stiff peaks. Fold into whipped egg mixture until well combined.

Pour sabayon over fruits. Place under a broiler until browned.

*the Fruits with Sabayon may be broiled a few minutes before serving, refrigerate in the meantime.

The Best Pancakes EVER.

There is a second hand shop on Fillmore Street where they use to sell past issues of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines for $1 each. For years I would go into this shop to see if there were “new” magazines available. I have quite a collection from that shop, some dating back to the 70’s. I still enjoy perusing the pages of these old magazines and trying out the recipes. Here is a newer recipe I’ve treasured for more than a decade.

Pancakes from Gourmet magazine, December 1993

3 large eggs, separated
1 stick butter, plus more for cooking pancakes
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar

In a bowl, whisk all ingredients except egg whites, until mixture is smooth. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into flour mixture.

Heat a griddle or skillet on medium-high heat. Melt about half a teaspoon of butter and, using a small ladle, pour batter into pan and cook pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. A good way to tell when the bottom side is done is when top part is filled with bubbles, it then takes a few seconds for the flipped side to cook.

Serve with 2 kinds of syrup and a side of crisp bacon.

Orange Syrup
I came up with this alternative when I ran out of maple syrup. I’ve been using it ever since.

Reduce freshly squeezed orange juice to a syrupy consistency in a saucepan on medium heat. Add sugar to taste. Cool. Serve with pancakes.

Prawns with Squash & Coconut Cream Soup

This soup has many of my favorite tropical things… coconut, prawns, lemongrass, a hint of chili and the color orange. I first had this soup at my cousins house where all good food cometh. Up until then I’ve only tried, and enjoyed, plain creamy squash soup flavored with stock. It seems with all the strong flavors in this recipe that the squash flavor would be overpowered, but the tropical ingredients only serve to enhance.

The original recipe called for canned coconut cream and frozen prawns. Canned coconut cream is good, but freshly made is much better. I bought freshly grated coconut (called niyog in the Philippines) and fresh prawns in the market. I used the grated coconut to make the coconut cream called for in the recipe and saved the prawn shells for the soup. Much of the prawn flavor is in those shells, especially the heads, so I highly recommend using fresh prawns if they are available in your area.

Prawns with Squash & Coconut Cream Soup

1-2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 scallions, chopped (white part only, reserve green for garnish)
2 small red chilis
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3-inch pieces (discard tough upper green part)
1/2 teaspoon Thai shrimp paste
2 vegetable stock cubes
2 cups boiling water
500 grams squash, cubed
3/4 cup coconut cream
250 grams prawns, shelled, deveined and butterflied (reserve shells and head)

1. Heat oil in pan, add garlic, scallions, chilis, lemongrass and shrimp paste. cook, stirring frequently, until scallions are soft.
2. Add squash and stir thoroughly. Add stock cubes and water, bring to a boil, simmer covered for 10 minutes. Discard lemongrass and chilis, puree soup in a blender until smooth. Pour back into pan and stir in coconut cream and prawn shells. Simmer for 5 minutes, pressing on the heads and shells.
3. Strain soup, pressing on the shells to extract all the juices. Pour back into pan and discard prawn shells. Add prawns to the soup and heat gently until prawns are cooked. Serve sprinkled with chopped green scallions. Serves 4 as a first course.