Wednesday 22 May 2013

Pear & Mandarin Dessert Soup


I'll be honest with you on this one - this delightful fresh fruity dish is completely inappropriate for the weather we are having at the moment! But if you're living in the Northern Hemisphere than this is absolutely what you need right now. So why am I posting such a seasonally perverse dish? Well, the theme for this month's Sweet Adventures Blog Hop is raw desserts. I almost gave it a miss - for 2 reasons. Firstly, because I generally don't recommend raw food diets and secondly, because it's freezing cold here and raw desserts really don't hold much appeal right now! In fact, as I type this I'm sitting looking out the window at the pouring rain wearing big fluffy socks, a large cardigan and a beanie - and I'm still cold!

But I really can't help myself, I always like to accept a challenge. So I rolled [down] my sleeves and decided to give it a red [cold] go, even though this is not my favourite theme. This soup is delicious, but if you're living in Australia then you might want to bookmark it and try it during warmer weather! This is perfect for the end of summer, when those warm Autumn days bring you plenty of seasonal pears and mandarins.


In good news, however, I'm excited to announce that I'll be escaping 5-6 weeks of winter this year and heading overseas on holiday! We're travelling in Scandinavia for 5 whole weeks and although I'm hoping to post you some pictures and updates along the way, that means it may be a quieter 5-6 weeks on the blog than usual. I'll be scheduling some posts that I've got on file and I'll also be helped out by some other wonderful bloggers with some guest posts. But I could definitely use a couple more - so, if you're a food blogger and you rather like my site, then please consider helping a brutha out (yes, I'm a dork) and contributing a guest post. I'll be more than happy to repay the favour any time you need it. Get in touch with me via email, facebook, twitter or whatever, if you're interested. It's a great way to get all my readers reading your blog, and vice versa.



Pear & Mandarin Dessert Soup

Ingredients
2 pears, cored and chopped
1 orange, peeled and chopped
4 mandarins, peeled
2 passion fruits
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 cups sparkling apple juice
Fresh berries, to garnish (optional)

To Make
1. Combine the pears, orange, mandarin segments (check for seeds and remove any that you find first) and the pulp of the two passion fruits in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Strain the fruit blend through a fine sieve, catching the strained liquid in a bowl. Use a spoon to press out as much of the liquid as you can and then discard the pulp.
3. Stir the salt and sparkling apple juice into the strained soup and stir gently to combine. Serve.

Serves 2-4 (depends on the size of your bowls really).

Variations ~
~ For a special occasion, substitute the sparkling apple juice with champagne
~ You can also enjoy this as a cocktail - simply add one measure of vodka or rum per 2 people.
~ In summertime, include fresh strawberries or raspberries to give it a summer flavour.
~ For a warming winter drink, heat on the stove over a low heat and add a pinch of cinnamon (or use whole spices as you would for mulled wine)


8 comments:

  1. Great idea!!! I've been wanting to do a dessert soup for ages :) You're right in that the weather isn't the best for cold soups but you could always heat that up (when not going raw) and add a dollop of gelato in the middle... Hot and cold :)

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    1. Yes, I would have heated it and added some spices if it hadn't been a raw food hop :) Would be absolutely lovely in summer though, especially with some fresh berries added!

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  2. Any recipe that suggests adding sparkling wine is alright by me! Dessert soup is certainly an intriguing concept. I wonder if you could also turn this into a popsicle or granita too.

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    1. You most certainly could make a sorbet, granita or popsicle. It would be delicious frozen.

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  3. I love the idea of this with bubbles! I'll definitely be checking back in summer!

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  4. So glad someone did a cold dessert soup! You are right, so opposite to the weather right now but love that you used seasonal autumn produce ;) We had a great time in Scandinavia a few years ago - have a fabulous trip!

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  5. I've been thinking about dessert soup for a while - this looks pretty darn good. Maybe I'll try and do a warm one for the cold nights, an apple and herb one maybe and a blood orange gazpacho one later in the summer!
    If you are still looking for contributors I'd be more than willing!

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    1. Thanks Rachel, yes warm dessert soups are lovely for winter! Let me know if you end up making any because both the ones you mentioned sound delicious. I would be thrilled if you'd like to contribute. I'll get in touch with you via your facebook page or something.

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