Don’t worry if you don’t have all three citrus fruits suggested: so long as you keep the total weight for the fruit the same, the dish works well with a mixture of just two. When pomelo is not in season and you want to maintain the contrast of colors, substitute some white grapefruit.
Stem ginger—fresh ginger preserved in sugar syrup—is typically used in baking, at the ready to be diced and mixed into cakes, cookies, and trifles, or the syrup drizzled over ice cream. But the warmth of the preserved ginger and the sweetness of the syrup can also bring a lot to savory stir-fry dishes or salads. Stem ginger in syrup can be hard to track down outside of the U.K.; look for it online and in Asian markets. You can also make your own. To do so, peel a 4-inch/10-cm piece of ginger (31/2 oz/100 g) and cut it against the grain into 1/3-inch/1-cm slices. Place the slices in a pan and pour in enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, replace the water, and repeat the process twice more. Drain for the last time, and then return the ginger to the pan along with 61/3 oz/180 g sugar, 11/4 cups/300 ml water, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stir until the sugar dissolves, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 1 hour, until the syrup is thick and golden and the ginger is soft. Pour into a sterilized jar, cover with a lid, and let sit for 24 hours before using. It will keep for up to a year in the fridge.
Recipes and photos from NOPI ©2015 by Yotam Ottolenghi, LLP. Published in Canada by Appetite by Random House.