El hábito no hace al monje or the habit doesn't make the monk. Who is to judge what is ugly or what is beautiful in nature? Beautiful things can sometimes disguise the nothingness, the insipidness within. When something is not attractive, we tend to overlook it. We humans have our universal rules of beauty or disgust when we judge what we eat. We are enticed by food that is pleasing to the eye, food that delights and triggers beautiful thoughts of past meals. The tropical fruits you find in markets in Mexico are all you need for a perfect and glorious ending to a meal, for example. What's better than a platter of coral-colored papaya, bright yellow mango, crimson watermelon, and purple tunas arranged in sections like dazzling jewels in a display case?
In the case of the zapote, I had been eyeing it for years, wondering whether in its ugliness there might be an unappreciated beauty worth discovering. Really, it's not the nicest thing to look at; it's black, dull, and squishy. Once it's scooped out of the peel, the fleshy insides ooze like a glossy chocolate. But it's not chocolate. The zapote sat menacingly on my kitchen counter in San Miguel de Allende for two days while my husband watched it warily, wondering if it was going to end up on his plate. On the third day (to his dismay), I worked up the courage to follow a recipe given to me by Doña Beatriz, the legendary cook of Casa Carmen. The dessert made from zapote was one that Doña Beatriz prepared for my students who stayed at Casa Carmen last year.
As it turns out, this unusual fruit, black zapote, or tzapotl in Nahuatl, is something worth discovering. Much like persimmon, you have to wait until zapote is overripe to use it and that is how it was sold to me at the market, so ripe it began to leak on the plate once I got home. Handling the fruit turned out to be a cinch. Zapote must have been created by the gods to be turned into a ready-made pudding. You basically scoop out the the pulp and mix the other ingredients and you have a substance of the creamiest texture. Add rum to the slightly citrusy flavor brought out from combining it with the juice and zest of orange, and you have an unforgettable dessert.
And, yes, my husband loved it.
| Zapote Dessert |
Recipe Type: dessert
Author:
Prep time: 15 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe zapotes
- 2 oranges for zest and juice, one orange for orange peel decoration
- 3/8 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¼ cup rum
Instructions
- Cut the zapotes in half and discard the large seeds.
- With a tablespoon scoop out the pulp onto a bowl and smash with a fork. It will have a pudding-like consistency.
- Zest the oranges into the mixture.
- Squeeze their juice into the mixture through a sieve to keep the seeds out.
- Add the milk, the rum, the cinnamon, and the sugar.
- Beat with the fork until it is well amalgamated.
- Arrange in dessert plates with ribbons or strips of peel as a garnish.
Great! Sounds good even if it doesn't look good! Lets see how it tastes! Can I find them here?
ReplyDeleteThanks
In Texas it should be easy to find them, Parvin, especially at an HEB. Here, on the East Coast, it's not so easy.
ReplyDelete