Does anybody remember the song, Yes! We Have No Bananas? My father used to sing it from time to time and, as kids, we thought it was really silly.
Now grown, and most of us with children (even grandchildren) of our own, the words make perfect sense. Okay, they don't at all. It is still a ridiculous song.
But I thought of the song the other day when friends Dianne and Emily were coming to dinner. Dianne adores mangoes, and one in my fruit bowl had been ripening all week. I planned mango mousse for dessert.
Just hours before their arrival, I started to peel the mango, and found it had gone beyond ripe and turned brown and indelible. Yes! We had no mangoes.
I headed straight for the neighborhood store for another. As I was flying out the door, Mark asked, "What will you do if they don't have a ripe mango?" Of course, they will have a ripe mango.
Of course, they did not.
With no time to hit more stores before our guests arrived, I started looking for alternatives. Passion fruit? I wasn't sure of the consistency. Raspberries or blackberries? Not in season. Citrus? Probably not. Comice pears? Bingo!
The Comice pears were perfectly ripe. If I were to tweak the recipe a bit, I’d have just the right dessert.
The pears replaced the mangoes. I switched out the lemon for lime because we had a few ripe ones on our little tree (funny how a ripe lime actually turns yellow!). A last minute addition was honey - an intense, dark, local catclaw bush honey. The honey with the pears and lime was perfection - much better than I could have dreamed.
This made enough for six people and I think the recipe could easily be doubled. It also held fairly well in the fridge, although it got a wee bit denser the second day.
So, yes! We had no mangoes... but we did have pears. And, who really cared about the bananas, anyway?
~ David
Pear Honey Lime Mousse
3 medium Comice, Bartlett or Anjou – very ripe – peeled, cored and cubed
2 tablespoons full-flavor honey
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch cinnamon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
1 egg white
Purée the pears, honey, lime juice, sugar, and cinnamon in a blender until smooth. Taste for sweetness and additional sugar, if needed. Whip the heavy cream and confectioners sugar to stiff peaks, and fold into the pear purée. Beat egg whites in a clean dry bowl until stiff, then gently fold the egg white into the mousse until no streaks remain.
Divide among 6 serving bowls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Serves 6. Labels: catclaw bush honey, Comice pears, cream, egg white, honey, lime, mousse, pears
