Every Saturday, the team of La table des bons vivant offers seasonal recipes to make at home to feast with family, or with your friends.
Today, Yves Camdeborde gives you his taste of the week: a tangerine-rosemary soup.
"I have always liked recipes where products from the end of one season mingle with those from the beginning of the next (truffle / asparagus or asparagus / strawberry etc…). There, it's the mandarin that says goodbye to winter and the rosemary that says hello to spring, this dessert is an explosion of flavors, so easy to make.
First I choose organic mandarins.
I prefer tangerine to clementine, which is just its hybrid.
Mandarin is particularly sweet, its zest is very fragrant.
It is the least acidic citrus.
With mandarin, we make excellent essential oils.
Calming and relaxing, it is known to help sleep.
It is rich in vitamins.
It is also the citrus that gives the best jams.
I peel them without damaging the fruit.
I put aside the fruit.
I put the peelings in a saucepan.
Citrus peels should never be thrown away, although they can be used in cooking or baking, but also to make herbal teas, or to dry them in the oven to use them as a room fragrance.
They deodorize the kitchen in a potpourri, or by throwing them in a fireplace, or by placing them in a candle.
I cover them with mineral or filtered water.
If you do not take mineral water but tap water, it is essential to filter it to remove this rather unpleasant aftertaste that chlorine brings and which makes you think of bleach.
Then I add the honey.
You have to choose a very fragrant honey but especially not a lavender honey.
For my part, I take a honey from Corsica.
The spring maquis of my friend Pierre Carli in Patrimonio.
I believe that the best in France are made in Corsica.
If you don't have honey, replace it with sugar, but especially unrefined sugar.
All I have to do is add the sprig of rosemary and the peppercorns.
Choose a powerful pepper like Asian cubeb pepper which is tangy and incredibly fragrant.
You can lightly crush it in a mortar or by rolling over it with a rolling pin, it will infuse more easily.
Finally, I put my saucepan on a fire and give it a boil.
I turn off my heat, cover and let infuse until completely cooled.
Very important step, the flavors will mix and bring their aromatic subtleties to the infusion.
When tasting, this resting time will bring a very pleasant length in the mouth.
I collect the mandarins, put them in quarters and place them in the serving bowl.
I filter my infusion over it and place my salad bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour, while the mandarin quarters soak up the infusion.
When ready to serve, I place the rosemary flowers on it.
I chose rosemary blossoms which are one of the first to bloom at the end of winter, but this preparation also works with fresh thyme blossoms, cherry blossoms or dried hibiscus which will add a touch. a little more exotic.
It is a very pleasant and refreshing dessert for a light lunch.
For a more substantial dessert, you can decorate this preparation with a lime sorbet and a very light meringue.
Ingredients (for two people):
6 organic mandarins
1 liter of mineral or filtered water
150 gram of honey
3 black peppercorns
1 small sprig of rosemary
1 tablespoon of rosemary flowers