Pomelo and tarragon cream tart

Of all the possibly available citrus fruits, my favourite is the pomelo. I was introduced to this gigantic version of a grapefruit during my first trip to Thailand and I have been in love with it ever since.

Pomelos look like very large grapefruit with skin that ranges from green to yellow a very thick pith, which can be as thick as three or four centimetres in places, and a flesh ranging from vibrant greeny-yellow to rosy red. The taste is very similar to that of a grapefruit, but tends to be milder and sweeter. I prefer the red-fleshed pomelo to the yellow, as the yellow tends to taste less vibrant to me.

The similarity to grapefruit is unsurprising as grapefruit are thought to be a great, great grandchild (genetically speaking) of the pomelo.

Don't be put off by the thought of having to peel the thick rind as it is very soft and yielding. If you score the rind in eighths with a knife, it will come away far easier than the peel of any other citrus, except maybe a mandarin.

This ease of peeling is of the utmost importance to me as, when I was a child I absolutely detested the white stringy bits that clung to my peeled mandarin orange segments. My poor mother would have to remove every trace of pith before I would eat even one segment. It is not surprising then that my favourite feature of the pomelo is that the membrane covering the segments is exceedingly easy to remove. It just peels straight away in great swaths. And you will want to remove it as it is quite leathery and bitter tasting.

Another unique feature of the pomelo is that the individual juice sacs that make up each segment are very full and firm, in the way that pomegranate seeds can be. You can pull apart a pomelo segment into its constituent juice sacs and they will not break or crush. It was this very feature I had in mind when I came up with this recipe for Sugar High Friday #8.

My first inclination was to make a pomelo granita or sorbet. I decided not to do that, just on principle, as I have been paying a bit too much attention to the ice cream family of late. I wanted something light and with an uncomplicated flavour to showcase the delicate pomelo flavour, and the tart I came up with is just the thing. This desert is not overly sweet or rich. The mellow and silky tarragon scented cream is a perfect backdrop for the tart and juicy pomelo.

Ingredients:

• Patè Sucrè, enough for the size of pan you intend to use. (I use Tamasin Day Lewis's recipe from the Art of the Tart which calls for 120gm flour, 60 gm butter, 2 yolks, 2 tbsp icing sugar)
• 500ml cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 sprigs fresh tarragon
• splash vanilla
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1 pomelo, peeled, membrane removed and separated into individual juice sacs
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed tangerine juice
• 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp sugar

1. Blind bake the tart shell for approximately 25 minutes at 375f. Remove baking paper and filler and return to oven for 5 minutes to dry out the bottom of the crust. allow to cool.

2. Gently crush the tarragon to release its scent and combine it with 125 ml of the cream in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Allow the cream and tarragon to warm on the stove for 10 or 15 minutes. Smell the cream to determine how much tarragon scent has infused the cream. It should smell distinctly, but not strongly of tarragon. Remove sprigs and stir in 1/2 cup sugar to combine. When thoroughly combined and hot,  pour several tablespoons of the hot cream into the egg, while whisking quickly. Pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan with the cream and whisk over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and place in fridge to cool.

3. Whip remaining cream with a small splash of vanilla. When the custard has cooled, fold it into the whipped cream and spread the mixture over the bottom of the tart crust. Place tart pan in freezer to chill while preparing the remainder of the recipe.

4. In a small saucepan simmer 1/4 cup pomelo juice sacs with tangerine juice, pomegranate molasses and sugar until reduced to a thick syrup. Use the back of a spoon to crush pomelo juice sacs to release juice if necessary. Remove syrup from stove and let cool. When cool toss pomelo pieces with the syrup.

5. Top tarragon cream with coated pomelo pieces and return to refrigerator until ready to serve.

Comments

[Hande]

wow, this looks great and sounds very interesting as well. Pomelo and tarragon is a combination I never thought of. Will have to try this.
Been a silent reader for a while now, I like your blog!

[Jennifer]

Gorgeous - and I'll bet it tastes delicious. What a unique combination of flavours...and so light and fluffy, perfect for spring!

Thanks so much for sharing and for joining in on SHF!

[Lyn]

Hande,

Thanks for the compliment and thanks for popping your head up!

Jennifer,

I've been trying for ages to get my act together and join in, but work seems to perpetually be getting in the way! Thnaks for creating the opportunity!

[Stephanie]

Once again, you've come up with something I just have to make!

How *do* you do it!?

[Lyn]

Stephanie

Thanks so much for the compliment! You are making me blush! Honestly, I loved this recipe, but if you'd asked me ahead of time if someone else would want to make it, I don't know whether I would have thought so. I even considered blogging about something else for SHF becasue I wasn't sure this would have a very wide appeal. I didn't know how people would feel about pomelo...

[Stephanie]

Truthfully, I'm not really a fruit tart fan. I can't stand fruit *in* things. But things like grapefruit and pomelo...well, I'm willing to make an exception.

And it's a fantastic recipe!

[Nic]

While I am not a fan of pomelo on its own, I can see how well it would work in a tart like this. I love the addition of tarragon. And, as always, it looks amazing.

[Lyn]

Nic,

Have you tried the red-fleshed kind? Truly they are far superior to the yellow-fleshed kind, which I think taste a bit foul.

[cooper]

What a wonderful recipe. I have wanted to use pomelo's for a dessert but haven't come across a recipe. This looks wonderful and I bet it's delicious! I will give this a try for certain. You always come up with the best stuff!

[Alice]

What a really neat entry, Lyn! Not only gorgeous, but also really intriguing to try and imagine the taste. I'm embarrassed to have left pomelos out of my citrus line-up...I'm glad you saw fit to include them!

[Emily]

This looks so pretty! I love pomelos, but have never thought to do anything with them besides eat them raw (although I hear you can cook their skins in a kind of chinese soup). I'm going to have to try to make this sometime, since the colours are perfect for summer!