We had a Monday diner last night. It was fun, a nice way to extend the weekend. On the menu: vegetarian spring rolls, Red chicken curry and Panacotta with Loquat&Cardamom coulis.

The dessert was a first try. I knew I wanted to make panacotta but I had no idea what the coulis was going to be. Obviously I did not want something too conventional like red berries, nor pineapple that I eat all the time. The truth is it slipped out of my mind to find another fruit over the weekend, I wanted it to be done in the morning and I did not want to go food shopping at 9am on a Monday so I looked at what was in the kitchen cupboards… And there I found a can of loquat in syrup, bought while ago by curiosity.

Some facts about Loquats:

1. Loquat are not Kumquat, as I thought they were
2. They are also called Chinese plums or Japanese plums
3. Fruits have orange skin, white, yellow or orange flesh
4. The taste is mix of citrus and mango. Taste of the fruit in syrup isn’t strong
5. They are high in vitamin A, potassium, and manganese
6. They are associated with The Day of the dead in Mexico
7. In Italy, the seeds are used to make Nespolino liquor
8. They have a sedative effect when eaten in quantity
9. In Japan they are used dried  to make a beverage called Biwa cha which is held to beautify skin and heal inflammatory skin
10. In Chinese medecine Loquat syrup is used to soothe the digestive and respiratory systems

Without knowing it, dessert was not only yummy, I actually contributed to my visitors good health and prepared them for a good night of sleep 🙂

Serves 8-9.

Time 4 hours (includes 3,5h in the fridge)

INGREDIENTS
1 liter heavy cream
4g Agar agar powder
2 vanilla pod
s
1 can of loquat in syrup
grains from 1 cardamom
3 tblsp of raw sugar

METHOD

For the Panacotta:

1. Pour the whipping cream in a pot.
2. Take out a ladle of cream, pour it in a bowl and use it to dilute the agar age powder. Whisk in the powder until very well diluted. When no more lumps of powder, pour it back in the pot.
3. Cut the vanilla pods in half vertically as if you wanted to “open” them. Using a knife, scrape the vanilla grains out and add them to the cream. Put in the pods as well
4. Add the sugar to the whipping cream.
5. Put the pot over medium low heat and bring to boil. Stiring often to keep on blending the ingredients together and to prevent the whipping cream from sticking to the pot. When starting to boil, keep boiling for 2 minutes.
6. Take off the heat, take out the vanilla pods and save them for the coulis.
7. Pour panacotta mixture in 8- 9 glasses.
8. Leave the glasses outside in the kitchen to cool at room temperature
9. When cool, cover he glasses with cling film and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

The Loquat and cardamom coulis:

1. In a  mixing bowl, put the loquat fruits from the can and 1/3 of the syrup. Mix using a handmixer or a blender.
2. In a pot, over medium heat, roast the little black grains inside the cardamom, disregard the shell. Do not let them burn! about 1 minute, until fragrant.
3. Reduce the heat to low and add the Loquat mixture and the vanilla pods from before.
4. Let it cook until you get a coulis texture, that is about 10 minutes.
5. Set it aside to cool. Take out the pods.

Putting the panacotta and coulis together:

1. When the panacotta has harden, pour the coulis over it and spread it so it fully covers the panacotta.
2. Cover the glasses and put back in the fridge until it is time to serve.