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Passion Fruit Chutney with Foie Gras (Updated Title)

Passion Fruit Chutney with Foie Gras (Updated Title)
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  • Passion Fruit Chutney with Foie Gras (Updated Title)

    Post #1 - July 16th, 2018, 4:59 pm
    Post #1 - July 16th, 2018, 4:59 pm Post #1 - July 16th, 2018, 4:59 pm
    Does anybody know where I can find passion fruit in Chicago? I'm really not aware of any great fruit/vegetable places that might have it.

    On a related note, we are trying to recreate from memory a dish we were served long ago. It is foie gras with a passion fruit chutney.

    Does anybody have any suggestions as to how we might make the chutney? I was thinking of trying blended passion fruit, some vinegar, and some sugar, but I may be way off. If anybody has any ideas, it would be great.
    Last edited by DML on July 18th, 2018, 9:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #2 - July 16th, 2018, 6:56 pm
    Post #2 - July 16th, 2018, 6:56 pm Post #2 - July 16th, 2018, 6:56 pm
    Passion fruit seems pretty widely available. I spotted some just tonight at my local Butera Market (Harwood Heights) which is not exactly an exotic foods destination.
  • Post #3 - July 16th, 2018, 6:58 pm
    Post #3 - July 16th, 2018, 6:58 pm Post #3 - July 16th, 2018, 6:58 pm
    I usually buy them at Fresh Farms on Devon Avenue, but Stanley's would likely have them, too. Chutneys usually contain chunks of fruit, so I would not use pulp. Buy the wrinkly ones; they are fully ripe. I would remove the seeds (although they are edible).

    I would suggest starting with a mango chutney recipe and adjusting the sweetness and seasoning to taste. You will likely have to add more sugar (I use raw sugar because it adds some welcome caramel notes) because ripe mangoes are significantly sweeter than passion fruits.

    Chutneys often contains savory ingredients such as onions and spicy ones such as fresh ginger and chilies, in addition to the vinegar and sugar you mention.

    Here is one from Alton Brown: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alt ... pe-1912175
  • Post #4 - July 18th, 2018, 9:38 am
    Post #4 - July 18th, 2018, 9:38 am Post #4 - July 18th, 2018, 9:38 am
    Thanks for the advice. I probably should have checked stores before posting. It turns out that Mariano's has passion fruit.

    Which brings me to the next question, after a short story.

    About 15 years ago, my wife and I had dinner at Spago, at the Four Seasons Maui. The menu tried to do a tropical take on foie gras, by pairing it with pineapple. Unfortunately, we doubted (or maybe hoped) that the chef just tried to dump a tropical version on the menu and either didn't taste it or didn't care enough about the taste. Basically, it was a beautiful piece of foie gras on a slice of pineapple. The flavors did not come close to working together. It was terrible.

    A few years later, we had dinner at a restaurant at the Guanahani Hotel on St. Barth. Similarly, the chef wanted to do a tropical take on foie. This time, the chef did a passion fruit chutney with the foie. It was one of the most memorable dishes I've we've ever had. You had the fat and sweetness of the foie, and the beautiful flavors of the passion fruit and it just worked perfectly.

    Here's the thing: we now want to try to recreate some of those flavors. We know we need foie gras and passion fruit. However, does anybody have any suggestions as to what else we should add to make it all work? I'm thinking a bit of brown sugar with the chutney, and possibly some vinegar, but beyond that, I'd love to hear some suggestions as to how we might make this dish work.

    Also, I've never cooked foie itself. I'm thinking of buying the slices of foie and then just cooking it on the stove with some grapeseed oil. Am I way off on the technique?
  • Post #5 - July 18th, 2018, 11:07 am
    Post #5 - July 18th, 2018, 11:07 am Post #5 - July 18th, 2018, 11:07 am
    Yes, Mariano's has fresh passion fruits, but as a trained (pastry) chef, I would seek out a store where they keep a large quantity and go through them quickly, such as a produce-centric store or one with a large Hispanic clientele, such as Edgewater Produce or Central Park Fruit Market. Or you could just use the frozen puree that Goya sells if you're going for a sauce, but you said you were seeking a chutney.

    Foie gras is very simple to prepare, and you don't even need oil; you need a smoking-hot pan and salt and pepper. There's plenty of fat, as I am sure you know. If it does sizzle immediately, don't continue cooking it until your pan is searing hot.

    More important is sourcing, slicing it thickly, scoring it, and not overcooking it. We're talking less than a minute per side.

    As for the flavors, again, I would start by making a chutney and seeing whether you like it, before you buy the foie. It's basically the butter of meat. You want something that balances the sweetness and fattiness. I think passion fruit can work well if it's cooked to a jammy consistency. If it goes well with a mild and very fatty cheese such as Brie, it will probably go well with the foie. If it goes well with duck breast or a thick pork chop, it will go well with foie. Personally I shy away from really acidic things with foie, but if you cook them down to bring out the sugars, it can work.

    I would nail your chutney or sauce before you ever buy the foie.
  • Post #6 - July 18th, 2018, 12:08 pm
    Post #6 - July 18th, 2018, 12:08 pm Post #6 - July 18th, 2018, 12:08 pm
    Thanks for the cheese suggestion. We are going to try it making the chutney tomorrow served with cheese, and then we will make it for the family on Friday or Saturday to go with the foie.

    I'm looking forward to this. Should be fun.
  • Post #7 - July 20th, 2018, 7:12 am
    Post #7 - July 20th, 2018, 7:12 am Post #7 - July 20th, 2018, 7:12 am
    So we did a version of passion fruit chutney last night. It ended up working very well over the brie.

    One question though: What do people do with the seeds? Strain them out? Use a food processor to make it into a puree? We left them in, and then on the plate sort of avoided them, but that's probably not the most pleasing option.
  • Post #8 - July 20th, 2018, 8:13 am
    Post #8 - July 20th, 2018, 8:13 am Post #8 - July 20th, 2018, 8:13 am
    The seeds are edible, and I actually like the slight crunch they add to some dishes. No reason to avoid them unless you just don't want that texture.
  • Post #9 - July 20th, 2018, 8:17 am
    Post #9 - July 20th, 2018, 8:17 am Post #9 - July 20th, 2018, 8:17 am
    Thanks. They didn't taste bad. It just felt sort of weird eating them due to issues with texture. I think we will leave them in when we do the chutney over foie gras tomorrow night.

    We ordered the foie from D'Artagan, which I had heard had top quality stuff. I'm looking forward to trying it. I'm actually sitting home now waiting for the delivery before I head to the office.

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