Monday, March 31, 2008

F I G and H O N E Y G E L A T O AND Lemongrass Ginger Ale


One of the fruits that I miss dearly from back home is fresh, juicy, luscious fig! The others being guava, custard apple and chikoo! My standard for these fruits is exceptionally high, only because we had these trees at home and nothing can beat the joy of eating a fruit right off the plant ;) Of course, as a kid I never envisioned that these golden moments would become just a distant memory!
Anyway, back to the fig....
The beautiful conglomeration of colors,
the sweet, smooth and plump flesh,
the delicate velvety peel,
the crunch of seeds within.....
what's not to like?
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So, what do you do if you like something and can't lay your hands on it? Go to the next best alternative is what I did, got the dried ones :) I like the black figs for their gorgeous taste and absolutely breath taking color! Fig Shake makes a regular appearance at my place, could ice cream and gelato be far behind ;)


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F I G and H O N E Y G E L A T O
a must for fig lovers..........
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1 heaped cup dry figs chopped fine
1/2 C milk
2-3 tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar, this is on the lower side (but tastes perfect to me), please adjust as per taste
a pinch sea salt
1/2 tsp orange zest
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1. To plump up the dry figs, layer finely chopped figs with about 2tbsp water and the sugar that you will be using and let soak 4hrs or overnite. It can be done without soaking too, just takes longer to cook.

2. In a sauce pan heat figs sugar mixture till thick and the figs melt and the mix is bubbly.

3. Remove from heat and stir in milk, honey, orange zest, mascarpone and salt. Chill about 30 mins in the refrigerator and then freeze till set. I just froze it in a steel container with a fitted lid. You can use your ice cream maker if you have one. It froze within an hour on the quick freeze shelf of my refrigerator. If the mix is too coarse, you may blend it as per your liking.

4. For the gelato, the consistency is a little on the smooth side as compared to ice cream. The difference between ice cream and gelato is that cream is not added to the gelato.


5. Enjoy Fig and Honey Gelato, it is quick to make and tastes out of this world ;) So if you are a fig lover, a mascarpone admirer or, what the heck(!) just like to indulge in good food, get to your kitchen and start cooking. If you are at err... work, take a print out and get to it as soon as you reach home, yes it is THAT good :) I would like to submit this to the Tasty Tools event, microplane being the selected tool. Recipe adapted from here.



I'm glad I'm just about to make it for Sig's MBP-Mixed Drinks event with Lemongrass Ginger Ale! Lately I've not been able to get to the events ;)
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Lemongrass tea is absolutely my favorite kind of tea :) Back home lemongrass used to grow wild in our backyard, now I've to pay dearly to get about 4 stalks of this herb! When I saw this Lemongrass Ginger Ale at Jaden's I knew I had to try it, though it was peak winter!! Try, I did and it was beautiful, just as I had expected. I might have gone a little overboard on the ginger, 'coz that took over the flavor. You can adjust the sugar as per your taste.
.

Enjoy, summer is not too far away........

31 comments:

Cham said...

Over boarding fig gelato is terrific and lemongrass ale is cool :)

Meera said...

Wow! Both look awesome. actually I am not really a fig fan, but still I think it's a great idea!! Lemongrass ginger ale is a great idea too...Oh and the the many fruit that I miss - custard apple, guava, chickoo, jaam, lychee, sweet lime, mangosteen (tadgola), and ofcourse mangoes!!!:-) You are so right. never thought they will just remain a cherished memory!

Deepa Kuber said...

Lemongrass ginger ale is my fav.. both pictures look good.

Sig said...

God gal, you and your romance with the fig has no end...now you started writing odes to the fig too... :) Fig and honey gelato sounds delicious!

And the lemongrass ginge rale, wow beautiful picture... Have to go and check out the recipe now...

Seena said...

Both are very healthy,I like the drink, looks so good! :)

evolvingtastes said...

Arre lemongrass tea is my most fave too! What I cannot resist asking is, how did you take the picture with the gelato almost about to drop from the top of the rim? :D

Sushma said...

the fig geloto pics are so tempting..

Nupur said...

That fig gelato looks soo good! Lemongrass is one of my favorite flavors too. You know, I just read somewhere that you can just stick a few stalks of lemongrass (from the store) root-side down in potting soil and they should start growing into a plant. So maybe you can grow your own :)

Unknown said...

hey Richa i can taste the gelato yummmmm..i also love figs and lemongrass too..my morning cup of tea always has a few strands of lemon grass...what flavour.the pic of the drink is awesome:)

amna said...

i love gelato :)

Richa said...

thanks cham!

thanks meera!
yeah, gotta' add jamun to that list ;)

thanks anjali!

thanks sig!
glad u liked it sweetie, yeah i did go overboard with the fig...lol

thanks seena!

thanks et!

yeah had to quicken the pic process so i can get to my fav fig soooooon ;)

thanks smn!

thanks nupur!
lemon grass does take it to another level, isn't it? i'm so trying that tip, tx.


thanks saswati!
looks like we have a lot of lemongrass fans out here :) it does hv such a appeal ;)

thanks nags!

indosungod said...

Looks grand the fig gelato, have not tried fig that much. But if it even half as good as you suggest I am trying it :)

TBC said...

I miss peru, chikoo and sitaphal too...
The lemongrass ginger ale sounds wonderful.

sra said...

That gelato is perched precariously! Nice pix.

Anonymous said...

Jumping up and down right now!We grow lemongrass too so this ginger ale is totally do-able. We have a fig tree and can't wait for it to fruit to try this gelato. But...we don't have any bees for the honey! :)

Pravs said...

Will go for the lemongrass ginger ale..want to have a sip. I have made jam with dried fig, but am not too much into fig.

musical said...

Fig and honey is an all time classic! The gelato is so yummy, Richa! I need some right away!Lemongrass in ginger ale is really a neat idea!

Boy, you have sent me on a fruity nostalgia! There's a ton of desi fruits that i miss! And this gelato is really making me hungry, so i'll make do with the apple on my desk ;).

bee said...

figs are my fav fruit, and with mascarpone and orange zest, i've gotta gotta gotta try this.

EC said...

Both the dishes look so good...

Laavanya said...

Fig Gelato looks so good Richa.. I've not had figs so much before.. just a few times. You make me want to explore it more... :) The lemongrass ginger ale looks refreshing!

TheCooker said...

Have to add jambhul (jamun) and bora (ber) to that list.
The spilling gelato looks awesone.

Richa said...

thanks isg!
lemme' know if u try, what can i say, just love that fig ;)

thanks tbc!

thanks sra!

Richa said...

thanks white on rice couple & welcome to my blog!
whoaaaa, u'hv a fig tree, can i invite myself over ;)

thanks pravs!
go ahead hv the full glass sweetie :)

thanks musy!
yes the combo is just beautiful, it is soooo hard to stop at just a cup, yummmm :) and yes that lemon grass flavor is so good in all the dishes!

Richa said...

thanks bee!
if u like bee & mascarpone, u will love this one ;)

thanks easycrafts!

thanks laav!
i'm always looking for good fig rcps, this one blew me away!

thanks tc!
oh yes! jambhul & bora, who can resist those ;)

Mansi said...

man, just the title had me salivating Richa! I love figs!!! that gelato looks pretty indeed! check out my fig ice cream recipe...that's our fav one!

the ginger ale looks refreshing too!

Unknown said...

wow..looks too refreshing and healthy

Priyanka said...

Richa, i made the pomegranate molasses using pomegranate juice from the market. It has now lasted for a little over 3 weeks. Have never tried making gelato at home- looks delicious. Absolutely loved the lemongrass ginger ale.

Uma said...

Delicious and refreshing.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

Fig and honey gelato looks really yummy!!beautiful pics, btw!!! I miss chickoo too :(

Richa said...

thanks mansi!
if u love figs, u will definitely enjoy this! wl chk out ur link.

thanks divya!
welcome to my blog :)

thanks priyanka!
tx for the info sweetie! lemme' know if u try

thanks uma.

thanks sukanya!

Suganya said...

Hi Richa... This is so different.. Looks great....