Coconut sago sundaes

November 19-20, 2022

   

I can smell the mangos every time I visit our local fruit'n'veg shop lately, so I knew it was time to have a go at the coconut sago with lemongrass curd and fresh mango in In Praise of Veg.

I'll say up front that this is a recipe I'm happy to have made once, but I'm unlikely to return to it. Here's why:

• The kitchen mess. I knew this recipe would take time, but it also took heaps of dishes and a bunch of straining, leaving two distinct piles of slimey lemongrass to clean up.
• It's more time sensitive than I expected. This looks like something you could make hours before serving, and indeed I made a couple parts a day early. But this caused the sago to swell up and the coconut cream to harden - the texture really wasn't what Zaslavsky intended. My garnishing lime zest lost its... zest. On the other hand, you do need to get started 2-3 hours before you intend to serve it.
• Eggs. Three yolks and a whole egg? Weird. I don't love separating eggs, and I don't love dealing with the leftovers. (Though I will admit that this choc-date-almond meringue is a good solution for 3 egg whites, and I used it.)
• I couldn't taste the lemongrass, even though I used more than twice the recommended amount.

So, it was all a bit much effort, and didn't serve the lemongrass flavour I was hoping for. That said, the lime curd was a hit! It's a lovely smooth contrast to the bubbly sago. (I long for a vegan-friendly alternative to get away from those egg yolks, but I haven't achieved it yet.) And we're so ready for the taste of summer we get from mangos. These sundaes skated into the right space - successful enough that I wasn't mad about the effort I put into them, but not so mind-blowing that I'll go to the trouble again.

Coconut sago sundaes

(slightly adapted from Alice Zaslavsky's In Praise of Veg)

coconut sago

150g dried white sago pearls or seed tapioca

green part of 3 lemongrass stems

400mL can coconut cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon caster sugar

lime curd

white part of 3 lemongrass stems, chopped

zest of 3 limes

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 egg yolks

1 whole egg

80g butter, diced

topping

diced mango, or other fresh fruit

lime zest

Place 12 cups water in a very large saucepan and bring it to the boil. Add the sago. Smash around the green lemongrass stems a bit and add them too. Simmer the sago over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until soft and almost clear. Discard the lemongrass and drain the sago, rinsing it with cold water.

In a medium bowl, stir together the coconut cream, salt and sugar. Stir through the sago and refrigerate the mixture for an hour. (Note that if you store it overnight, like I did, the sago will expand further and the coconut fat will become more firm.)

Place the chopped white lemongrass in a small saucepan with the lime zest, lime juice and sugar. Bring it just to the boil, then turn off the heat and let the mixture infuse for 20 minutes. Strain the mixture and return it to the saucepan. Over low heat, whisk in the egg yolks and whole egg, and continuously stir until the mixture thickens to a custard. Pour the mixture into a food processor or blender and let it sit for 5 minutes or so to cool a bit. Commence blending, and gradually add in the butter chunks. Keep blending until the mixture is completely smooth. Spoon the curd into the bottom of four serving glasses and refrigerate for at least an hour (storing this overnight won't do it any harm).

When you're ready to serve the sundaes, spoon the sago mixture over the curd in the glasses, then garnish with chopped fruit and lime zest.