' DRAGON-FRUIT & PASSIONFRUIT .' dessert

Dessert of Passionfruit Tartlet , panna cotta , gelato , fruit pulp & fruit leathers , Dragon-fruit Chiffon cakes , sorbet , fresh red and white fruit , Shortbread crumble , Chantilly cream and micro mint leaves. 

                    This is a little fruit demonstration uses just 2 fruits as apposed to the two 16 fruit medley posts earlier on. But in this I have demonstrated 3 or more preparations for each fruit varying the textures and visuals in each to keep the diner from straying. Both these fruit grow in my backyard and the passionfruit  used for this dessert is backyard harvested, frozen from last season. About 5 or 6 years ago, quite a large tea tree on the side of our property snapped in half during a summer storm. The bottom half of the tree plays host to some staghorns and fortunately the tree kept growing and from that day on the tree was not only host to staghorns but a rouge panama gold passionfruit vine. Never knowing the origin of the vine or even where the vines root system is, to be able to water it. The vine continued to grow and engulf the tea tree giving us seasons of gold large full fruit. That is until a year or so ago the vine died off and now we may get the odd fruit here and there. So the pulp used for this dessert was he last harvest from the mysterious panama gold vine. Our dragon fruit cactus were grown and reared from seed about 8 years ago, they've recently been transplanted outdoors from out of the green house they haven't given us any fruit just yet, so the red and white varieties you see on this plate have been store bought.    

                    The preparations for this dish are listed below in order of method.                                            
  Passionfruit Tartlet :- First in a food processor I brought flour, butter and sugar together to form a fine crumb, to this I added egg yolks and chilled water processing to a dough of which I turned out on to a floured work bench and rolled out to about 3-4 mm thick. I then placed the pastry disc between two sheets of baking paper and placed into the fridge for 30 minutes. While this is in the fridge I made a custard of egg yolks, sugar and cream, this was simmered while whisking until the sugar dissolves and the mixture coated the back of a spoon. I then added to this passionfruit pulp mixing to incorporate. The pastry was then removed from the fridge and circles were cut out using an upturned glass, the pastry was then used to line the inserts of a greased muffin tin. The filling was then poured into the pastry liners and the tarts were baked at170 deg. c. for about 20-25 minutes before being allowed to cool.                      
  Passionfruit Panna cotta :- I brought milk, sugar, passionfruit juice and agar agar whisking to dissolve the agar and sugar this was then poured into a greased tubing with a stopper on the end and placed in the fridge to set before being un-molded and sliced in portions to serve.
  Passionfruit Gelato :- In a saucepan I brought milk, cream, eggs and sugar to the simmer for about 15 minutes whisking to dissolve the sugar, the custard was allowed to cool before adding passionfruit juice and mixing to incorporate. This was then poured into a glass bowl and placed in the freezer for about 8 hours, forking the gelato every 2-3 hours to churn it.
  Passionfruit Leathers :- Simply passionfruit juice and sugar reduced over a low to medium heat then poured onto a baking paper lined tray and placed in a 100 deg.c. oven to dry for around 3-4 hours.
  Dragon-fruit Chiffon :- In a bowl I beat egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and fluffy before adding dragon-fruit pulp, corn oil and vanilla essence and mixed to incorporate. To this I gradually added some self raising flour and a little corn flour, lightly mixing in. In a separate bowl I beat egg whites, caster sugar and cream of tartar until fluffy and thick. I then gently folded the dragon-fruit mix into the egg whites and poured into a muffin tin lined with cup cake inserts and baked at 170 deg.c for 10 minutes, before turning the oven down to 150 deg.c. and baking for a further 20 minutes.
  Dragon-fruit sorbet :- In a saucepan I brought water, sugar and glucose to the boil reducing to a simmer, whisking until all the sugar has dissolved. Removed from the heat and allowed to cool before adding lemon juice and dragon-fruit puree mixing to incorporate. In a separate bowl I whisked egg whites lightly and added this to the sorbet mixture before pouring into a glass container and freezing for about 3-4 hours, forking the mix every hour for a silky finish.
  Shortbread crumble :- Simply pulverised macadamia nut shortbread with toasted sesame seeds and mixed with a little olive oil.
  Chantilly cream :- Whipped thickened cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract.

' BLOOD ORANGE & BEETROOT TARTLET .'

Blood orange & Beetroot Tartlet , Beetroot panna cotta , Persian cucumber , Asparagus , Hummus , Swiss cheese , Rocket , Red oak , Blood orange and edible flowers.

               This is a dish put together with left over ingredients making their way to areas of the fridge that don't see light, out of sight out of mind the saying goes, but not this time. I made use of these awol. veggies before it was to late and they become food for my worm farm. It came together quite well considering, the ingredients are slightly random but surprisingly works together and this would make a fabulous light lunch, brunch type deal. Next time I would just add a bit more beet juice to the panna cotta to try and achieve a more purple, maroon beetroot coloration rather than the strawberry looking one I've made.      
                The sweet shortcrust pastry was the first preparation for this meal, starting by combining flour, butter and sugar in a food processor to make a fine crumb, to this I added egg yolk and chilled water and processed bringing together a dough before turning the pastry onto a floured work bench and rolling out to a 3-4 mm thick disc. This was then covered between two sheets of baking paper and placed in the fridge for 30 minutes. Greasing muffin tins, I then cut circles with a glass out of the pastry and lined the muffin inserts. In a bowl I grated beetroot and mixed with blood orange juice, sugar, egg and a little flour, this was then spooned into the pastry shells and placed into a 170 deg.c. oven and cooked for about 25-30 minutes until the filling was cooked and the pastry just  browning. These were then removed and allowed to cool before serving. To make the panna cotta I simple heated in a small saucepan milk, cream, sugar, beetroot juice and agar agar at 2%. This was then brought to a simmer whisking to dissolve the sugar and agar powder, this was then poured into a 10 mm plastic tube and set in the fridge. I poured the remaining mixture onto a flat tray and placed it in the fridge to set. While these were setting I prepared the asparagus by washing, trimming and blanching asparagus spears of which were then steeped in an ice bath to stop the cooking procedure. The cucumber was shaved using a veggie peeler, trimmed and dressed in olive oil and seasoned. The lettuce greens were simply tossed in seasoned olive oil before being plated. I then made a hummus by placing chick peas, tahini, garlic, olive oil, cumin and lemon juice in a blender and processed to combine adding a little water and blending to make a smooth paste.