Tangerines à la Palikare

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart (2-liter) heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Sharp paring knife
• •Demitasse spoon or narrow teaspoon
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •6-cup muffin tin or six small cups for steadying the peels
• •1¼ to 1½ cup (300 to 360 ml) round bowl
• •12-inch (30 cm) flat serving platter
• •Pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Hollow the tangerines

   Wash and dry the tangerines. Slice a thin lid from each one, cutting parallel to the base so the open rims will sit flat when inverted. Slip a demitasse spoon between the white pith and the fruit, rotate the shell in your hand, and ease the sections out in two or three clusters without piercing the peel. Keep all six shells and steady them upright in a muffin tin. If you make a small nick, press a scrap of peel from the removed lid against it from inside; the chilled rice will hold the patch, and the opening will face downward at service.

2. 2

   Skin the sections raw

   Separate the tangerine sections over a bowl to catch their juice. With the tip of a very sharp paring knife, nick the membrane along the straight inner seam of each raw section, then peel it gently toward the curved outer edge. Remove any seeds and arrange the bare sections in a single layer. Do not blanch or poach them. Cooked tangerine flesh tears into threads, while the raw sections remain plump enough to tile the dome. If a few split, keep them for the lower part of the dome and cover their joins with whole sections. Ça se rattrape.

   Work with dry fingers and a dry knife. Tangerine juice makes the membranes slippery, so wipe both whenever the sections begin escaping your grip.
3. 3

   Blanch the rice

   Bring a saucepan of water to a full boil, add the rice, and blanch it for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly without rinsing. Blanching clears away excess surface starch while leaving enough behind to bind the finished entremets rice. Meanwhile, crumble the saffron into 2 tablespoons of the measured milk and let it stand for 10 minutes, until the milk turns deep yellow.

4. 4

   Cook the entremets rice

   Bring the remaining measured milk and the salt just below a boil in a heavy saucepan. Stir in the blanched rice and saffron milk, lower the heat, and cook at the barest simmer for 22 to 28 minutes, stirring along the bottom every few minutes. Once the grains are completely tender, stir in the sugar and 1½ tablespoons (22 ml / 21 g) of the butter; sugar goes in now because adding it before the rice softens can keep the center stubbornly firm. Cook uncovered for another 3 to 5 minutes, until a spoon drawn through the rice leaves a path that closes slowly. If the rice tightens before it is tender, add the reserved hot milk one spoonful at a time. If it remains loose after the grains soften, keep it uncovered over gentle heat. Should the bottom catch, lift the clean rice into another pan without scraping up the scorched layer.

   The finished rice should mound on a spoon without standing stiffly. Runny rice slumps from the mold, but dry rice cracks instead of forming a smooth dome.
5. 5

   Fill and mold

   Let the rice cool for 10 minutes, just until warm and pliable. Spoon it into the six tangerine shells, pressing gently so there are no hollow pockets, and level each one at the rim. Coat a 1¼ to 1½ cup (300 to 360 ml) bowl with the remaining ½ tablespoon (8 ml / 7 g) butter. Pack the remaining rice into it, tap the bowl once against a folded towel to settle the rice, and smooth the top. Cover the rice surfaces directly and refrigerate the bowl and filled shells for at least 2 hours. Put them into the refrigerator promptly; cooked rice does not wait about on a warm counter.

6. 6

   Make the apricot syrup

   Combine the apricot preserves and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes, whisking until smooth, then press the mixture through a fine sieve. Let the syrup cool until it remains fluid but no longer feels hot. If it sets too thick to brush, loosen it with a teaspoon of water; if it runs like juice, simmer it for another 30 seconds. This small strained batch replaces the apricot syrup a pastry kitchen would have held ready.

7. 7

   Build the centerpiece

   Chill a flat 12-inch (30 cm) serving platter. Run a thin knife around the molded rice, invert it onto the center of the platter, and lift away the bowl. If it resists, wrap the bowl in a warm towel for 5 seconds and try again. Press any small crack closed with the back of a damp spoon; the fruit will cover it. Starting at the base, cover the dome with overlapping raw-skinned tangerine sections, curved sides outward, then brush them lightly and evenly with the apricot syrup. Arrange the six rice-filled peels around the dome with their open sides undermost, exactly as the source directs. The platter takes the place of the carved cushion, which was brigade display scaffolding and added nothing to the dessert. Serve cool, cutting the dome into six portions and giving each guest one filled shell. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose tangerines that feel heavy but remain firm, with unbroken skins and as few seeds as possible. Very loose, papery peel collapses after hollowing; very tight peel is liable to tear before the fruit comes free.
• •Saffron should make the rice golden and faintly honeyed, not medicinal. Measure the small quantity, bloom it in warm milk, and resist the theatrical extra pinch.
• •Use smooth apricot preserves with a clean, tart flavor. Straining is not fuss for its own sake: pieces of fruit drag against the delicate sections and leave the glaze cloudy.
• •Serve the Palikare cool rather than numbingly cold. Fifteen minutes out of the refrigerator lets the tangerine and saffron speak while the rice remains firmly molded.
• •A demi-sec Champagne suits the dessert's citrus and preserves the sense of celebration without competing with the saffron.

Advance Preparation

• •The apricot syrup can be made up to 5 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Warm it only enough to restore a brushable consistency.
• •The rice-filled shells and molded dome can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Keep their surfaces covered directly so the rice does not form a skin.
• •Skin the tangerine sections no more than 4 hours before assembly and refrigerate them in a single covered layer. They become fragile as they release juice.
• •The full centerpiece can be assembled 2 hours before serving. For the clearest gloss, apply one final thin coat of apricot syrup shortly before it reaches the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)