Enjoy mandarins in a creamy parfait

Mandarins are my favorite citrus fruit, and the Satsumas are the best of those, I think: easy to peel, just tart enough and the right size for a snack.

This is the weekend for the Mountain Mandarin Festival, so I thought I'd come up with a recipe that featured the fruit's refreshing flavor and offers a contrast to the pumpkin-spice-cranberry-apple overload coming later in the week.

This recipe took some tweaking, since the first version I tried came out nice but plain -- good for kids but not sophisticated enough for adult palates. 

I started with a recipe from the Los Angeles Times, first choosing to reduce it from 6 servings to 4. Then I discovered that the bottle in the refrigerator that I thought was whole milk actually was heavy cream, which is too heavy on its own for a pudding. But I remembered I had a can of coconut milk, the kind with the layer of solids, so decided to use that, adding a little of the cream to get it to the needed 2 cups.

Otherwise I followed the recipe, but the end product needed some oomph, my husband (the resident taster) and I agreed.

The recipe here is what resulted when I played around with the liquid and the flavoring. The coconut milk is still a good choice for the liquid, but I prefer the version with half and half. The revision also tastes more like mandarin oranges, which after all was the goal.

Mandarin parfaits with tapioca

Serves 4

Ingredients:

6 mandarin oranges, such as Satsumas, about 1 pound

2 tablespoons instant tapioca granules

2 cups half and half or whole milk or one 13-1/2-ounce can coconut milk plus milk or non-dairy milk to measure 2 cups

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2  teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons minced candied ginger, divided

Choice of accent for parfaits:

1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted, or

1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened, or

1/2 cup pomegranate arils

Instructions:

Peel 4 of the mandarins and split into sections, removing as much of pith and strings as desired. Then cut the sections in half and place in a small bowl. Cut the other 2 mandarins in half without peeling, and juice them. Pour the juice over the section halves in the bowl, and stir in half the candied ginger. Set the bowl aside.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the tapioca, whatever milk you're using, the egg, sugar, salt and the extracts. Bring the mixture to a rolling bowl, stirring frequently, then remove it from the heat.

Pour the hot tapioca into a glass or ceramic bowl. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

When ready to put together the parfaits, pour 2 tablespoons of the mandarin juice from the macerating oranges into the bowl of tapioca. Whisk the juice and the remaining ginger into the tapioca just until combined.

Set out 4 bowls or half-pint Mason jars that will hold the parfaits. Spoon 2 generous tablespoons of tapioca into the bottom of each of the jars. (It doesn't have to be exact.) Using a slotted spoon, place 4 or 5 mandarin section halves on top of the tapioca, then sprinkle on some of your chosen accent. (They also can be combined; the coconut and almonds go well together.)

Repeat twice more so that there are 3 layers of tapioca, mandarins and accent, ending with the accent.

Chill an hour before serving. If serving time is later and you're using the Mason jars, try putting lids on the jars for better storage.