Saturday, August 22, 2009

Custard Apples and Caramelized Bananas

CUSTARD APPLES (Me and the Anona)

"Both in tree and in fruit, the custard apple, Annona reticulata L., is generally rated as the mediocre or "ugly duckling" species among the prominent members of this genus."

A few days ago while bringing me my weekly delivery from her Finca EcoLoco, my friend Linn pulled out a couple of ugly lumpy specimans and said, "Can you use these"? "These", were vaguely artichoke shaped, but softly spiny, brownish-green (or were they greenish-brown) lumpy, ugly pieces of some kind of organic matter. I knew immediately that they were Anona, or sweetsop (or soursop, depending), a fruit also know as the "Custard Apple". I'd participated in the eating of only one previously and hadn't stopped to consider that I might be able to use them in my kitchen.

My previous experience with the anona had consisted of yanking one off a tree up at the house on La Union, slicing it in half, handing a spoon to a friend and sharing it with her. The flesh is indeed custardy and mild, somewhat vanilla (?) ice cream colored, and a bit on the slimy side. The seeds, which cling mightily to the fruit are like watermelon seeds on steroids and much, much slipperier. The fruit, while not anything that would cause me to develop a serious craving, was certainly pleasant enough and easy to eat.
So now I had two.

I didn't spend much time pondering the anona for a day or two while I went about a busy weekend, but then on Monday, there they were, ripe and ready for something. So I did what I always do when I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to put a new fruit (or one that I don't really have a lot of) to use; I make ice cream out of it. I figured with a name like "custard apple" it would surely fall right into an ice cream niche.

What I hadn't figured on was the surprising strength of the fibers in this slippery fruit and how strongly they clung to the seeds (and vice versa). I cut my two anonas in half, scooped out the flesh with a big spoon and commenced to trying to push it through the same steel mesh strainer I use to strain the seeds from pureed blackberries. I pushed, I reamed, I shoved and I scraped the flesh against the mesh of the strainer. I worked the edge of the spoon back and forth, back and forth; forcing the slippery flesh into the small passages of the strainer. The going was far slower than I'd anticipated and the seeds, oh the seeds, just would not let go of the fat amounts of flesh that clung to them.

At the end of nearly 40 minutes of pushing and mildly cursing; walking away from time to time out of frustration and boredom, and scraping the bottom of the strainer, I had amassed nearly two cups of puree, and that was enough for a batch of ice cream. There was a bit more flesh to be passed, but damn it, the things had been free and this was taking waaaaaay longer than I had figured it would.

So I made my standard ice cream base of milk, cream and sugar and added the hard fought anona puree to it. It went into the refi on Monday and into the ice cream maker on Tuesday. And I would love to say that I loved the resultant ice cream and that its flavors were revelatory; but that is simply not the case. It remained a pleasant and mildly fruity flavor, now smoothed and sweetened by the cream and sugar. I served it in lieu of vanilla ice cream over chocolate cake and alongside an almond tart. It was well received but again, there was no hue and cry over its uniqueness or appeal. It was, for all the work, a nice fruit. Ugly as hell, though.

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CARAMELIZED BANANAS

There comes a time in the life of every fruit when the Chef using it needs to alter it; change it, make something more of it than the natural wonder that it is. For me, this usually means finding some way to caramelize whichever fruit is close at hand. To make the caramel, I use regular unsalted butter, but have taken lately to using a lot of Tapa Dulce, the dark sugar made here in Costa Rica by boiling down the liquid squeezed from fresh sugar cane. Tapa Dulce is a natural and organic product and the flavor is much more haunting and noticeable than that of even locally produced brown sugars. It appears in our markets here in in a cone shape with a bit of a flattened top where the point would be. When it is cooked it seems to take on a kind of caramelized vegetable flavor, that to me is akin to the flavors one gets from the crunchy sugary parts of roasted pumpkin or yam.

So there I was with bananas, butter and Tapa Dulce. I set about making a Caramelized Banana Tart by dropping a half cube of butter into a saute pan and adding a half cup of shredded (a cheese grater works nicely for this) Tapa Dulce. When heated, the Tapa Dulce breaks down quickly and the resultant caramel is thick, a bit grainy, and rich. I poured that into the bottom of a round pyrex and proceeded with the cake. I creamed butter, more Tapa Dulce and ripe bananas, added eggs, organic natilla (a local sourcream like product), a bit of local vanilla and removed the bowl from the KitchenAid. Away from the machine I folded in a relatively small amount of flour to hold everything together.

I cut three nicely ripe and very sweet bananas from our property into long slices and overlapped them on top of the caramel. This was looking a lot like a Tarte Tatin or my pineapple upsidedown cake. I smoothed the batter gently over the top of the bananas and launched the whole thing into the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes. What came out of the oven was a dark tan pastry with a volcanic pools of caramel bubbling up around its edges and even from a few spots in the middle. It smelled great! I waited about half an hour, ran a knife around the edges and turned the cake over and out onto a cutting board. It looked great with the overlapping banana slices and the banana caramel mixture left in the pan was one of the best things I've ever run my finger through. The tart looked great sitting there on the cutting board, ready for slicing.

There were, however, more bananas and more Tapa Dulce. I peeled another eight bananas, whacked them into thirds and tossed them in a bowl with nearly a cup of the shredded Tapa Dulce and some softened butter. This mixture went into a pyrex and into a 350 oven for nearly 40 minutes. What came out was like banana candy; chunks of softened banana dripping and coated with thickened caramel. It was hard not to plunder them immediately.

I cooled the roasted caramelized banana pieces for a hour or so while I went about making another ice cream base. The puree went into the base and into the refi it went for a night. The next day the chilled mix went into the frozen drum of the ice cream maker and around and around it went. I had a good feeling about this one, and my intuition was rewarded. This was an awesome (not a word I use lightly) ice cream. The intensity of the roasted bananas combined with the caramel permeated the ice cream and the flavor was rich and seductive.

So now the choices were: serve the two banana products together for a one dimensional caramelized banana rush; serve them with flavors that would compliment them and offset them, or serve them alone, as is/was. I did the first two, my inability to not combine them with anything easily winning out. They did go out together; a study in the intensity of the cooked banana; I served the ice cream over my flourless chocolate cake and the crowd went wild; and I served the banana cake with a simple vanilla ice cream to great effect, as well.

These recipes are both keepers and will become yet another part of the permanent rotation of desserts. I never set out to be a pastry chef, and it probably shows, but with ingredients like these, it seems simple to succeed, if I keep it simple.


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Wednesday May 13, 2009 La Cusinga and Me


This words below are from our website describing La Cusinga.  The story, however is much deeper and much richer than these introductory words can describe.  La Cusinga represents a noble and successful effort to preserve this section of unspoiled coast and to keep it alive as a model of what true ecology can accomplish.  The dreams and visions of John Tresemer, the owner of La Cusinga and the Finca Tres Hermanas that surrounds it, have been realized here in what is a true example for all who would preserve and protect what remains of this, or any natural wonder. 

La Cusinga 
La Cusinga Lodge is a coastal rainforest eco lodge dedicated to marine and terrestrial conservation and environmental education. Its location on the southern Pacific coast provides guests with sweeping ocean views and a relaxing beach vacation. In addition La Cusinga is part of a private nature reserve that supplies the visitor with an unparalleled look at Costa Rican wildlife and rainforest. The reserve consists primarily of 250 hectares of virgin rainforest that borders thousands of more acres of privately protected forest. On Costa Rica’s still wild south-western Pacific coast, La Cusinga Lodge borders Ballena Marine National Park which was developed to protect the humpback whales that frequent the coast. La Cusinga Lodge was established in order to share the unique site with Costa Ricans as well as international visitors. Besides getting exposure to rural Costa Rican culture and beautiful vistas, visitors have access to highly prolific areas of primary tropical rainforest and unspoiled coast, all conveniently accessible. 

i returned to La Cusinga this past January, 2009, with a dream in mind.  I wanted to create a cuisine for our guests that would bridge the gap between what La Cusinga offered physically and spiritually, and what they were putting in their bodies when they ate here.  I knew from having previously lived in Costa Rica for over two years that there were organic farmers and that sustainable agriculture was being practiced, but at that time it had been limited in its scope as well as its distribution.  

My first steps upon returning were toward the local Feria to seek out and communicate my ideas with the growers and vendors who could provide me with a local, organic and sustainable product.  The fertile valleys of San Isidro that lie over the coastal mountains and to the Northeast of our Pacific location are rich and productive but are only now exploring the potential that they hold.  

I had in mind a vision that would support local farmers, fishermen and food artisans and one that would recreate (or perhaps, create) a new cuisine of Coastal Costa Rica.  I visit the markets each week to talk with growers and to develop the  relationships that I believe will be mutually beneficial as Costa Rica experiences its rapid growth on an international level
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Organic farming is a new and not heavily supported concept in our part of Costa Rica.  It is a brave step for farmers to make, as local communities of both growers and consumers have never placed, or not known to place, an importance on farming organically and sustainably.  I feel a responsibility as a Chef here to be at the forefront of those encouraging and supporting these pioneers  

I came to La Cusinga almost three years ago not knowing what to expect.  My first time through here was characterized by a lack of understanding and appreciation on my part as well as an inability to recognize or connect with the local "flavor" that would make for a coherent package for out guests.  I now feel as if I have made a "connect" with the property and the vision.  I am not completely satisfied and hopefully, never will be, until we are able to produce, right here at La Cusinga, the greater share of the produce we serve.  However, the groundwork has been laid with local farmers and the availability and quality of organic produce is impressive.

Now at La Cusinga I serve a variety of organic lettuces and braising greens.  My salads include wedges or slices of rich red tomatoes as well as sweet !00 and yellow pear cherry tomatoes.  I roast organic beets and marinate them in balsamic vinegar to be served alongside the lettuces and topped with a locally made organic goat cheese.

My soups are made from roasted and steamed local organic vegetables and tiny organic yellow creamer potatoes have found their way onto my plates, nestled against filets of locally caught fish.
I am now using a local organic cocoa powder that still contains the nuggets of cocoa butter unlike the fined cocoa powder in the markets.

And better still, I am able to use palmito (hearts of palm), ginger, cilantro and its sawtooth leafed cousin culantro coyote, mangoes, hot and sweet chiles, mandarina limes and yucca root from our own Finca Tres Hermanas to serve in my dining room at La Cusinga.   The connection from jungle and farm to table is evolving.  May it continue to grow.