Mandarin Parfait with Candied Ginger | A Candy-Bar Breakfast

Ever wondered what the underside of a Mandarin tree looks like in the middle of January?

Note: We eat these puppies like candy; peel off the orange wrapper and pop the sugar sweetness.

There were so many on the tree this week that I stood in one place to collect a whole basket (which means there are still about 4-5 loads in the yard).

Most of the time, the basket sits in the kitchen, and we take out a few a day to eat sporadically between meals. (Even the dog brought me one this morning to peel for her – she gets a few a day, too.)

Then are are times we flip through our books and get a tad more creative. This is where Russ Parsons’ Mandarin Parfait with Candied Ginger from How to Pick a Peach (2007) comes in. Reminds me of what we do in the summer with peaches, honey whipped cream and crushed biscotti.

Our slight modifications: A wee bit more sugar, a tsp. of vanilla extract and double the Mandarins. We serve ours in punch cups and just do two layers. The candied ginger makes me long for one of my mom’s Vietnamese desserts, mmm. 

Shh… we ate these for breakfast. [K]

Don’t be an idiot; don’t spill vanilla extract all over your book.

Click here to view a printable version of this recipe.

Mandarin Parfait with Candied Ginger

~ Serves ~

6

Author’s Note: I especially like this recipe with tiny Clementines or Satsumas, which are exactly the right size.

~ Ingredients ~

• 2 ¾ cups whole milk
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup sugar
• 3 tbsp. instant tapioca
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 pound seedless mandarins (about 6)
• 2 tbsp. minced candied ginger ( about 1 oz.)

~ Preparation ~

1. Whisk together the milk, egg, sugar, tapioca, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until the egg is well combined. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Then bring to a rolling boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the tapioca mixture. Remove the tapioca from the heat, pour it into a container, cover and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. The mixture will be somewhat liquid at first, but will thicken as it cools.
2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almonds on an ungreased jelly-roll pan and toast, stirring occasionally, until they begin to become fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally to prevent scorching. When the almonds are fragrant and beginning to turn golden brown, remove them from the oven and immediately transfer them to a bowl to stop the cooking. Set aside.
3. Peel the mandarins and carefully remove as much of the white pith and strings from the fruit as you can. Break the mandarins into sections containing roughly 2 segments each and cut each section in half crosswise. Collect the mandarins in a bowl and set aside.
4. Sprinkle the minced ginger over the chilled tapioca and stir roughly to mix it in thoroughly and to break up the tapioca. After mixing, the tapioca should be somewhat creamy in texture rather than set firm like Jell-O.
5. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of tapioca into each of six small glasses. Martini glasses are perfect; wineglasses or flat champagne coupes work well, too. Spoon half a dozen pieces of mandarin over the top, then scatter a generous tablespoon of sliced almonds over that. Repeat twice more so that you have 3 succeeding layers of tapioca, mandarins and almonds. Serve cold or refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving.

Nutrition content per serving: 335 calories, 41g carbs, 13g protein, 15.5g fat, 5.5g fiber

Cost per serving: $ 1.51 – $ 2.06

Source: How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) by Russ Parsons. Cited here with permission from the author.

When was the last time you had tapioca?

Tagged as: Tangerine