Caramel-Almond Torte with Spiced Mango Compote (for Passover)

Disclaimer: I haven't actually made this yet. Occasionally a recipe shows up on this blog before I've made it because someone sends it to me in hard copy or e-copy and I've nowhere else to store it and I feel compelled to keep it rather than throw it away. This is what my family ate for Passover dessert last year and my mother copied out the recipe on the back of some study materials and mailed it to me, and it looks delicious. Perhaps I'll make it for Passover this spring, if we get the chance to celebrate it (e.g. I am not on the night float.)

From Bon Appetit April 2002 by Jayne Cohen. 

Ingredients:

For the compote:

1 1/4 C. sugar

1 1/4 C. water

1 1/2 T. chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 T. orange zest

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

3 1-pound mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

For the torte:

2 1/4 C. slivered almonds (approx. 9 oz.), toasted, cooled

8 T. sugar

1 T. potato starch

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 large eggs, separated

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C. pareve kosher-for-Passover margarine

1/4 C. packed golden brown sugar

Directions:

1. Make the compote: Combine the first six compote ingredients in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring the syrup to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil syrup five minutes then pour into a medium bowl and cool for 30 minutes. Stir in mangoes. Cover and chill at least two hours and up to four days.

2. Make the torte: Preheat the oven to 375F. Blend 1 3/4 C. almonds, 2 T. sugar, starch, and cinnamon in a processor until nuts are finely chopped, about 45 seconds. 

3. Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks, 2 T. sugar, and almond extract in a large bowl until very thick and pale in color, about three minutes. Fold almond mixture into yolk mixture.

4. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and salt in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 4 T. sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold large spoonful of whites into yolk mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whites.

5. Transfer batter to 9" springform pan. Bake torte until puffed and golden brown and tester inserted into smooth and thick, about three minutes. Mix in remaining 1/2 C. almonds. Spoon topping over torte. Cool one hour. (Can be made six hours ahead, let stand at room temperature).

6. Cut around pan sides to loosen torte; release pan sides. Place torte on platter and serve alongside compote. 

Green Mango Pie

This is an old recipe that I made two years ago (on our honeymoon, in fact!) and never blogged, so it is sitting in my recipe stash awaiting formal entry so I can move on and delete it from the list. Personally, I liked this pie. It's spiced very much like an apple pie, but it's different-- you know. It's mango. The Robber of course would rather have an apple pie, but in the two years since he has since learned just to go with the flow of things around here. 

From Pie Love You:

http://www.pieloveyou.blogspot.com/2010/03/green-mango-pie-16.html

Ingredients:

For the filling:

3-4 unripe, mostly green medium mangoes (about 5 C.), peeled and sliced

3/4 C. sugar, adjusted for sweetness of the mangoes

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Zest of 1 lime

1 T. of lime juice

For the double crust:

2 1/2 C. unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 T. sugar

2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter

4-5 T. of ice water

Directions:

1. For the crust: Cube the butter and chill it along with the water until needed. Mix together all the dry ingredients and then add the chilled butter, cutting into the flour until pea-sized pieces are produced. Add the chilled water 1 T. at a time and mix with a fork until the dough is the right consistency. Gather the dough together and divide into two separate disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. For the filling: In a smaller bowl, combine the dry filling ingredients. Slice mangoes and add to zest and lime juice in large bowl. Pour dry ingredients over mangoes and mix.

3. Put it together: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out single dough to about 1/8″ thick and place in pie pan leaving the edges long. Scoop the filling in center of pie but do not pour in all the liquid. Roll out the second dough and place on top of the pie. Trim edges and crimp to design. Using a sharp knife, cut tiny vents in the top of the pie. Brush with egg whites and sprinkle sugar on top.

4. Bake it: Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, rotating once at the halfway point. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue to bake 30 minutes more till golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.

Mango-Coconut Clafoutis

We had left over coconut milk and left over whipping cream, so why not make a clafoutis? The real problem was that I didn't actually know what a clafoutis technically was-- should have read Wiki beforehand-- so I bought too much mango and filled up my dish and consequently it was too liquidy, but whatever! It was delicious all the same. I had some extra batter that I used to fill some ramekins with strawberries and make extra clafouti and those were even more delicious than the mango kind. Plus this was all very very easy as you just have to throw everything in the blender. Next time the Robber wants coffeecake for breakfast (we made this on a Saturday morning) I will make him a clafoutis instead (although because he is the Robber he likes coffeecake better). Oh well. What is nice about this is you can probably swap out the coconut milk for real milk or additional cream and the mangos for any old fruit you want. Voila! Clafoutis.

From the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/11/magazine/mag-11eatpie.html?ref=magazine#Mango-Coconut_Clafoutis

Ingredients:

3/4 C. heavy whipping cream

3/4 C. coconut milk

1/2 C. sugar

3 eggs

1/3 C. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I doubled this of course)

1/2 tsp. vanilla (could try almond or coconut extract!)

1 lb. mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Directions:

1. Combine heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla extract and cinnamon in a blender; blend until smooth.

2. Put mangos in a buttered and floured 8- or 9-inch pan. (I used a pie pan, maybe a cake pan would have been better as it would have been deeper and thus held my extra fruit.)

3. Pour the batter over the mangos.

4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold. (We ate it with a little extra sweetened condensed milk sprinkled over the top. Some toasted coconut would be nice with this as well.)

Sri Lankan Mango Almond Curry

A few months ago on a date in Santa Cruz the Robber and I just about died and went to heaven eating mango almond curry at this Sri Lankan place. In fact, if you google "mango almond curry" it will link you there because it is so good. I resolved that, if at all possible, the Robber and I would make it for ourselves. At home.

But alas, finding a recipe, so hard. I finally came across this one for mango curry, without the plaintain or almonds that the restaurant used, and adapted it trying to make what we had at Malabar. We made it last night and had it over coconut rice. It was close... but not quite there. Maybe not having the curry leaves or the pandan leaf made a big difference? Even without these more exotic spices, however, the dish was delicious and we will definitely be making it again.

Adapted from: http://www.cookingandme.com/2009/05/sri-lankan-mango-curry-recipe.html

Ingredients:

1 raw mango

1 plantain

1 C. blanched whole almonds

1/2 onion, chopped fine

2 tsp. crushed garlic

1 tsp. crushed ginger

(or use 2 tsp ginger garlic paste)

1 tsp. mustard seeds

2 T. vinegar

4-5 curry leaves

1 pandan leaf cut/torn into bits

a 1" cinnamon stick

1 15 oz. can thick coconut milk

1 15 oz. can light coconut milk

1 T. oil

Directions:

1. Peel mango and cut into long, thin pieces. Do likewise to the plantain.

2. Grind mustard seeds and vinegar together to form a paste.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and cinnamon. Saute until onion turns golden - about 5-7 mins.

4. Add the mango, plantain, almonds light coconut milk, pandan leaf bits and the mustard seed mixture and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat and simmer until mango and plantain is cooked and tender. Add the thick coconut milk and simmer for another 10 mins. Add salt. Serve over rice.

BBQ Chicken Vegetable Mango Kebabs

Had the most amazing kebabs.

What were in these kebabs of amazingness?

BBQ Chicken by Bob
Tomato
Yellow and green summer squash
Purple onion
Orange and green bell pepper

annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd....

MANGO.

It was bold.

It was revolutionary.

It was a kebab TRIUMPH.

I am never going back. I am a mango ke-bab-er FOR LIFE.

(Just peel a firm-ish mango and chop it up in chunks like you do the rest of le vegetables and skewer 'em with the rest. Whoo.)

Caribbean Dream Pie

From The New Moosewood. Seriously better than I thought it was going to be, and ridiculously easy to make. It would be hard to mess this pie up.

SWEET CRUMB CRUST:

2 cups crushed graham crackers or ginger snaps (easily done in a food processor)
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional, If you prefer you can substitute another 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers of ginger snaps)
1/4 cup finely minced pecans
6 Tbsp. butter, melted

1) Preheat over to 350F.
2) Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan, building a handsome 1/2-inch ridge around the edge. You will have more than enough to fill the pie pan-- sprinkle the rest in another pan. Place both in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

FILLING:

1 14-15 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. grated lime rind
1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
1/2 a ripe mango, peeled and sliced (or chopped)

1) Pour the milk into a medium-sized bowl.

2) Add the grated rind and juice, and whisk for a few minutes until the milk thickens.

3) Layer the banana and mango slices in the baked, cooled crust. Pout the thickened milk mixture over the fruit, spreading it into place. Sprinkle the top with extra crumb mixture, and chill until cold. Serve cold.

Skeptical of the filling, I added one more bananas (three large bananas total) and tripled the mango (1 1/2 mangoes total). I also increased the lime zest, but not the lime juice or the milk. I found this to be just fine. I also topped the pie generously with lightly sweetened whipped cream and then sprinkled the extra crust crumbs on the top of the whipped cream, not the pie itself. The overall was wonderfully creamy and fruity and perfect for the lovely early summer evening. This pie should be served in California often.

Frog-Eye Salad aka Ambrosia

This dessert-ish salad is a Utah/family classic. Served at picnics, Thanksgivings, with potatoes, on the side, this salad goes just about anywhere you want it to be. Best of all, it doesn't involve any jello. The salad is really a throw whatever you want in, with your own sense of proportion, but here is my most recent version:

1 package mini marshmallows
1 package sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 finely sliced mango
1 small can drained crushed pineapple (important that you drain thoroughly)
1 cup cooked small round pasta (I used acini de pede)
1 half pint whipped whipping cream
2 Tbsp. sour cream

Can also add: grapefruit, apple, pecans, or canned mandarin oranges. Say no to grapes, walnuts, strawberries, or untoasted almonds. Lime zest might be ok, if used sparingly. Think about toasting a little bit of the coconut for a more interesting flavor. Make sure you drain and cool the pasta thoroughly before adding to the mix. I whip the sour cream directly into the whipped cream before using the whipped cream to bind everything together. Be careful not to make this salad too soupy, it kills the leftovers and makes the salad feel limp. Don't use too much grapefruit, if you do, eat it quickly and sweeten the whipped cream a bit with powdered sugar.

Mix it all together and chill covered before serving.

Mango Applesauce

This is a recipe of my own invention! Spurred by the ingredients I had on hand, I made the following mango applesauce and was quite pleased with the results:

Halve, core and peel eight small to medium apples (I used Jonagolds). Discard the cores and put the halves to the side. Add the peels to a blender along with 1/2 to 3/4 C. unsweetened apple cider. Use the grater function on the blender to chop the peel pieces into as small bits as possible. If any large chunks of peel remain, stir and blend again or remove by straining. Pour peel/cider mix into a medium sized pot.

Chop apple halves into small chunks. Put 5/8 of the chunks into the pot directly, add the other 3/8 into the blender. Peel one mango. Discard peel, cut as much fruit as possible off the mango and place into the blender. Squeeze the remaining mango juice out of the mango and into the blender. Add 3/4 - 1 C. unsweetened apple cider and blend until you have a uniform orange blend with an apple-sauce like consistency. Pour the blender contents into the pot and stir until the mixture is uniform.

Cook the applesauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally (when bubbles) for 60-90 minutes or until desired consistency. Turn heat all the way down and leave on warm. After 60 minutes, you should be able to squish the larger chunks of apple against the side of the pot, leaving only the smaller chunks intact.

Season lightly with ginger and nutmeg, generously with cardamom and cloves. Serve warm.

Ta-da! A real Matheson treat. :) The applesauce was declared to be a triumph by all who ate it and was consumed later in the evening by wee Mormon medical students in various array.