Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Uncomplicated Mousse, Coconut and Pistachio



   I started out to write something about figs. I got a whole fig recipe going on, but this last Saturday was really, really, hot here in Sonoma. I'm still in my transition from doctors appointments with my mom every day to getting back to cooking again. Dessert always seems like an easy path back and I've come to believe that the fastest way back to Normal runs right through Dessert.
 
   Mousse has never struck me as something that could be made and eaten the same day. Usually, when I've mixed up a mousse I've made it the night before serving to give it a chance to set. It's never struck me as the sort of "whoa, let's have some mousse! I've got a couple of hours" sort of thing to do. That was before I did some serious mousse research. I found a whole honking lot of recipes out there, all sorts of techniques and prep times. After studying up on mousse  design I decided to try making a simple coconut mousse with pistachio and dark chocolate shavings. The beauty part about this?  It's ready to eat a couple of hours after whipping it up. Also, everything needed for  this recipe? Chances are it's already in your kitchen.


Coconut Pistachio Mousse



Here's What You Need:

4 egg yolks
10 and 1/2 tsp of sugar
8 1/2 fluid oz of coconut milk
A bit more than 3/4 teaspoon of unflavored gelatine
8 and 1/2 fluid oz of whipping cream
Dark chocolate for shaving
Zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup of chopped pistachios

Here's What To Do:

Beat the egg yolks together with the sugar until it's smooth.


Bring the coconut milk to a boil.
When it starts to boil, pour it over the egg yolk sugar mixture and in the words of Devo, "Whip It! Whip it good!"
Pour the mixture back into the pan and put it back on the stove.
Stir it until it starts to thicken.
Add in the gelatine.
Stir that in well, you don't want gelatine lumps.
Pour it into a bowl and let it cool.

While it's cooling, mix together the orange zest and the chopped pistachios.

After it's cooled enough, add in the orange zest and pistachios.


Fold in the whipped cream gently.


Scoop the mousse into individual serving bowls and chill until it's set.
Before serving, take a piece of dark chocolate and shave it over the mousse.


After the chocolate has been scattered over the top, serve it up. This recipe makes 6 servings.

   I realized looking at this recipe that it was practically a tribute to OXO products.  I've been buying them my whole cooking life. My vegetable peeler I've had forever, and my hand beater I received as a gift from OXO last year.

   So there you have it, fast and easy mousse. If you don't want to use gelatine I imagine this recipe can also be made with agar agar. I have that in my pantry but I haven't tried the recipe that way yet. If anyone does, please let me know how it works out.  Coming up next, I finally get down to the figs, almost in time for gleaning season to hit Sonoma. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

4 comments :

  1. You may have inspired a perfect dinner party dessert!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is unique recipe which makes me visit again and again on this blog. Always I found very interesting and yummy recipe on your blog. Thanks for sharing and keep it up your good work.

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  3. Another fabulous dessert! Coconut and pistachios are too of my favorite things to eat. Putting them together—with cream and dark chocolate, no less!— sounds like heaven.

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