The mandarin in the photograph here was a great disappointment (so was the photograph, for that matter). In fact, I haven’t had a decent mandarin all winter. But I’ll be buying more this weekend for a repeat performance of the mandarin curd recipe below. Sean Moran, whose wonderful restaurant Sean’s Panaroma nestles into Bondi Beach and who writes a monthly column for the(sydney)magazine, has given me permission to reproduce these two recipes, which we published in the magazine a couple of months back. Every time Sean’s copy lands in my inbox I bore my colleagues to tears rhapsodising about his recipes. He has an uncanny knack of creating recipes for fruit and vegetables that are intoxicating. Sean — thank you.
Mandarin curd
Grate zest from 4 mandarins and 1 lemon into a saucepan, squeeze juice, then add to pan with pulp. Add 150g unsalted butter and 1 cup castor sugar (superfine sugar) and stir over a low heat for several minutes. Push through a strainer. Cool to room temperature. Add 4 egg yolks. Return to a low heat, stirring until first bubble appears and mixture thickens. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, cool, then refrigerate. Makes 500mL and will keep for 2 weeks. Use to layer a sponge or spread on toast.
Mandarin fizz
Remove peel from 1 lemon and 3 mandarins. Chop. Squeeze juice. Boil 3 litres water. Remove from heat. Grate 100g ginger, add to water with peel, 400g castor sugar (superfine sugar) and 1 tbsp cream of tartar. Cool. Cream 1/2 tsp dried yeast with a little of this liquid, stir back into pot then leave for 12 hours. Strain, add juice, pour into sterilised bottles with screw tops. Drink chilled and undiluted.
