Thinking of you today, Joann G Yaeger, and how we got more Charlestonians to use the loquat fruits from the ornamentals planted in their dooryards in Victorian times. (They arent the best variety for edible fruits.) When I lived in Genoa, loquats (nespoli) were everywhere, as they are on the French Riviera as well (where they’re called nèfles, or nesples, or mespila), but they’re much fleshier, much more like apricots, recipes for which are generally interchangeable. In Charleston, I never heard them called anything but “Japanese plums,” and, before all the gentrification, when I first opened my store, small children would come around during their early season (they were the first fruits of the year, during the Spoleto Festival) selling them. I doubt that anyone other than some “Olde Charleston” folks and and you and me bought them. In England, they’re called medlars, from the German, but medlar also refers to another fruit, native to Persia, also popular in Victorian times. Some sources say that the Italian nespole refers to it, but, when I lived there, what we called nespoli were loquats. As is often the case, the common names are a mess to decifer: According to the OED, medlar originally referred to another tree, Mespilus germanica, also grown for its fruit, which, according to Hortus Third, is “edible after frost….when fully ripe, or made into preserves.” Otherwise, it is highly astringent, like an unripe persimmon. But medlar has come to mean the fruits of various other trees, “as Neapolitan or Oriental Medlar, the AZAROLE, Crataegus azarolus. Japanese Medlar, the LOQUAT.” This last, in other words, Charleston’s loquats (Eriobotrya japonica). The best fruits are grown on grafted trees; there are both white-fleshed and yellow- or orange-fleshed varieties. I loved the loquat tart recipe that you developed for me for my first book. It seemed a shame not to offer a recipe for this common Charleston dooryard fruit. But, given what a pain they are to prepare, as you and I both know, a better way to preserve this fruit might be to make a “brandy” from it, the way they do in Bermuda. It’s similar to the Cherry Bounce described both in my lowcountry book and on my blog. On Bermuda, it’s made with rock candy and gin, or more elaborately with brandy instead of gin and the addition of such spices as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Here in Sichuan, the fruits have begun to arrive from points south (the trees in Chengdu have fruit that is nowhere near ready). I now use my own version of pasta frolla -- more like Mamas sugar cookie dough than the classic Italian version, but its delicious. Ive added a bit of baking powder to lighten it. Getting soft southern flour such as White Lily® here is problematic. Heres the recipe: Crostata di Nespole (Japanese Plum Tart) Charlestonians will probably always call loquats “Japanese plums,” but you can make this loquat tart with apricots, cherries, preserves, or jam. If you have neither fresh apricots nor loquats, used dried apricots soaked in water overnight (see below). 14 tablespoons (1-3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and diced, plus butter for greasing the pan ½ cup sugar 2 1/2 cups soft southern flour or pastry flour mixed with all-purpose, plus flour for dusting pinch salt ¼ teaspoon baking powder 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract 2 tablespoons milk 1/4 cup apricot jam 2 cups seeded loquats, apricots, or rehydrated dried apricots* ½ cup chopped pecans Grease a 10 tart pan with butter. Set aside two teaspoons of the sugar, then combine the remaining sugar, the flour, the salt, and the baking powder in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the diced butter and pulse in bursts until the butter is evenly minced into the mixture. Mix the egg, extract, and milk together well, then, with the processor running, pour it into the bowl and allow the processor to mix the dough until it forms a ball on top of the blades. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll out about 1/2 thick. Score off a section of the dough big enough to fill the pan, about 2/3 of the dough. Roll that section up onto the rolling pin, then unroll it into the tart pan. Lightly press into place, pressing on the sides so that the edges are taller than the sides of the tart pan. Wrap the remaining dough in wax paper or aluminum foil and refrigerate it. Cover the tart shell and refrigerate for an hour, or up to a day. Preheat the oven to 350º. Remove the tart shell and extra dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature for a half hour. Line the tart shell with wax paper, aluminum foil, or parchment paper, and fill it with weights such as dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, remove the weights, and bake for another 5 minutes. Spread the jam evenly in the tart shell, then add the fruit, interspersing it with little pinches of the remaining dough. Sprinkle with the nuts, then sprinkle the entire tart with the reserved sugar. If you have leftover dough, roll them out into cookies and bake them on a pan alongside the tart. Place the tart on a baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until the dough is evenly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 8-10 servings. * For 2 cups of rehydrated apricots, fill a 2-cup measuring cup loosely with dried apricots. Fill with water to barely above the 2-cup mark. Pour the water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the apricots, stir well, remove from the heat, and cover. Let stand overnight.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 03:18:25 +0000
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