Mangosteen: the fruit, Garcinia mangostana, of an evergreen that originated in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, cultivated for thousands of years not only for its fruit , but also for its magnificent  pink flowers.  The mangosteen was introduced to the Caribbean in the middle of the 19th century.

Its rind is very thick, tough and inedible, but because of its high tannin content, it’s used to tan hides.  To reach the delicate fruit inside, the rind must be cut with a sharp knife, reviling a white flesh, which makes up only one quarter of the weight of the fruit, the flesh is split into five to seven segments, similar in appearance to a mandarin, with a small edible seeds.

The texture is somewhere between a well ripened plum and ice cream, with an incomparable delicious flavor.

To know what  everybody knows is to know nothing.

Albert Einstein

In one of my visits to Sardinia , Italy. I had the privilege to visit a shepherd. An old and very respectable profession in the island, most of them started at young age and be able to have a good living with all the moderns comforts. To produce the wonderful ricotta: salted or soft, ready to eat or use in savory and sweets recipes.  I enjoy with carta da musica ( music sheet ) the thin bread above.  Is a traditional flatbread, it is made by baking whole in rounds, then separating it into two sheets which are baked again to dry. The recipe is very ancient and was conceived for shepherds, who used to stay far from home three to four months at a time.  Today, is used in different wonderful dishes.

Enjoyed the stroll in the village near by, with the wonderful smell of crisp fresh air, and wood burning fireplaces.

My culinary curiosity has not barriers. These beauties, will be parked on the counter till I decided what I want to do. In the meantime here are some info how taro is cultivated, where, and culinary uses.

Taking time to regroup, from a sad and joyful events I had to deal last week. Soon….

For crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons ice water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For filling
1/3 cup whole almonds (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup sugar1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 teaspoons rum or brandy
12 ounces ripe figs, cut into halves
1/4 cup apricot marmelade

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 3 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 2 tablespoons ice water and vanilla in small bowl. Pour water mixture over dough. Process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out on floured surface to 12-inch round. Cut 3 rounds about 5 inches big, fit into pie plate and trim excess dough. Using fork, pierce dough all over. Bake crust until pale golden, about 30 minutes (crust may shrink slightly). Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature

Make filling:
Finely grind almonds with sugar in processor. Add egg, butter and 2 teaspoons rum. Process until batter forms. Pour filling into crust. Arrange fig halves atop filling. Bake until figs are tender and filling is golden and set, about 25 minutes. Melt jelly with remaining 2 teaspoons rum in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush jelly mixture over figs. Cool tartelettes. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe is adapted from Bon Apetit Magazine October 1998

They came together in about fifteen minutes to form a satisfying, healthy, and light lunch for summer hot days.

The Morning has the Gold in Her Mouth.

Baking in salt is not difficult. You may have seen it presented  in a restaurant by a waiter working table-side. The salt crust is cracked and removed with flourish. Inside the white salt dome lies perfectly cooked, moist  fish. Baking fish in a salt crust creates a sort of oven within an oven. The salt seals in moisture steaming the fish inside. Because the salt absorbs the moisture, the texture of the fish  is more like roasted than steamed fish.

Begin with the freshest fish you can find. Ask the fishmonger to clean the fish but leave on the head and tail. Good choices include: Tilapia, Striped Bass, Trout, Red Snapper and Salmon.

Use Kosher salt. For one whole fish 1.5 to 2 lbs pounds you will need several cups of salt up to 2 lbs, depending on how thick you mound the salt.

Place a layer of salt in the bottom of a roasting pan, jelly roll pan or half sheet. It should be firm, place your fish on top.  Add whatever herbs you’re using to the cavity of the fish. Mound the remaining salt over the fish covering completely.

For about 2 lbs of fish, plan on roasting in a 400° oven for about 30 minutes.  Checking with a thermometer during cooking time there is a risk of breaking the crust. If you uncertain, wait until the end of the cooking time and check it only one’s.

When the fish is done, remove it from the oven. Using your beautiful hammer and gently break the top crust and remove the skin. Brush and gently roll the skin will be easy to remove. Your top fillet will now be exposed and you can lift it right off the bone, to a platter.

Next, you should be able to lift the tail of the fish pulling toward the head. Now, you can remove the bottom fillet to the platter. A pastry brush can be used to gently brush away any salt that remains. A perfect sauce for this fish is a simple herb garlic olive oil mix with fresh lemon wedges, and you are done.

The beautiful town is Alghero situated an the west coast of the island of Sardinia, Italy

Beets were part of the shooting, and just because I did not have enough to do, the chef in me wanted to test this recipe.  Success!!

Sometimes the unplanned it is the best part of our experiences.