Recipe: Tropical Fruit Salad with Tarragon Cream

A colorfully seductive dish, this light, yet alluring dessert of soft, juicy fruits is perfect for a spring or summer refresher. In this simple salad, we capture distinctly different flavors – sweet, tart and savory – and wrap them together in a subtle tarragon and honey cream. We also provide a variation for presentation – a sexy timbale of fruits – so have fun and experiment with whatever variation suits your style and comfort level.

Recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Tarragon Butter Sauce

Although asparagus is available year-round, it is a traditional side dish for any spring feast (and best when freshly picked from the farm). The rich essence of freshly minced tarragon adds a lovely flavor to the velvety butter sauce, making it a perfectly luxurious way to dress up freshly roasted asparagus. The extra sauce will not go to waste either: It can complement your favorite grilled or pan-sautéed meats.

Recipe: Almond Tarragon Cake

Superb tasting desserts don’t have to be complicated, and this simple cake exceeds all expectations. Rich with the flavors of almonds, sweet butter and vanilla and studded with tiny green leaves, these are beautiful golden cakes full of tantalizing, complex flavor. The almond paste gives a velvety fine crumb, and tarragon imparts a subtle but extraordinary hint of spice. The cakes also taste refreshing when served with the tarragon cream from our tropical fruit salad recipe; this combination of warm cake and cool cream creates an earthy and striking dessert perfect for spring. Although perfectly acceptable when prepared in a larger pan, small individual desserts always take the cake, although they require slightly more effort.

gilded fork, recipes, dessert, almond, tarragon, cake

Recipe: Tropical Fruit Salad with Tarragon Cream

A colorfully seductive dish, this light, yet alluring dessert of soft, juicy fruits is perfect for a spring or summer refresher. In this simple salad, we capture distinctly different flavors – sweet, tart and savory – and wrap them together in a subtle tarragon and honey cream. We also provide a variation for presentation – a sexy timbale of fruits – so have fun and experiment with whatever variation suits your style and comfort level.

gilded fork, recipes, dessert, fruit salad, tarragon

The Indulgence: Tarragon - The Sweet Taste of Spring

As spring slips slowly towards us (taking its own sweet time in some parts of the world), we find ourselves reveling in anything fresh and new. Though substantial stews, juicy roasts and warming casseroles certainly got us through the winter, spring menus quickly become greener, lighter and cooler; fresh herbs are one of many wonderful ways to celebrate the return of spring, and tarragon is the ideal herb with which to begin. Some of us know tarragon only as a bottle of green flakes with a dusty odor, for dry tarragon lacks the aroma and flavor gifted to its younger, fresher sibling. But once you’ve nibbled on the long, thin leaf of true, fresh tarragon, you will find yourself constantly craving its subtle licorice-flavor. Don’t hold back. (read more)

gilded fork, food, food writing, tarragon

Recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Tarragon Butter Sauce

Although asparagus is available year-round, it is a traditional side dish for any spring feast (and best when freshly picked from the farm). The rich essence of freshly minced tarragon adds a lovely flavor to the velvety butter sauce, making it a perfectly luxurious way to dress up freshly roasted asparagus. The extra sauce will not go to waste either: It can complement your favorite grilled or pan-sautéed meats.

gilded fork, recipes, roasted asparagus, asparagus, tarragon

Mixology: Blood Brothers Cocktail

April’s theme of artichokes and tarragon threw my palate off balance due to their unfamiliarity, especially the former. To my knowledge, there were no restaurants in town that served artichokes as a main, nor did it feature prominently even when it was used (which by itself is a rare case here in Singapore). Artichokes are also quite a curious item, where one is not exactly sure what it is (a flower bud, actually).

As with many of the themes featured so far at The Gilded Fork, artichokes have an aphrodisiac reputation, and their alter ego at the bar comes in the form of the liqueur Cynar. An intriguing effect of eating artichokes, however, is that they leave a sweet taste in the mouth that affects subsequent flavors on the palate, so I passed on them for April’s cocktail.

As for tarragon the “dragon herb”, I had not tried any dishes in which it featured prominently, but am a bit more familiar with its anise flavor. In fact, this particular flavor is seldom seen in the cuisines in Singapore, and likely experienced by most Asians through the anise-flavored Sambuca liqueur. Interestingly, the plant’s roots, if not divided regularly, would actually start to strangle themselves (definitely a freedom loving herb!). Used by the ancient Greeks as a painkiller (due to a compound called eugenol) for toothaches, it was also known as the “soldiers’ herb” for its anesthetic and perceived anti-venom qualities.

The thought of soldiers brought to mind inspirational battles fought against great odds, such as Cinco de Mayo, the legend of the 300 Spartans, and the archetypal David versus Goliath story. Along these lines, coriander seeds (actually fruits) came to mind, as they were once used by soldiers to prevent wound infections. Coriander seed’s wonderfully uplifting floral/citrus notes gave the anise-flavored tarragon a more appealing dimension. (read more)


gilded fork, recipes, cocktail, tarragon, coriander, blood oranges