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MEALS THAT HEAL

Luscious lychees

Whether eaten fresh or in desserts, here's a fruit that's popular for its flavour and medicinal value

RED AND JUICY Lychees

Lychee (Litchi chinensis), also spelled Litchi (the USA FDA spelling) or Laichi, is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family Sapindaceae. It is a tropical fruit tree, native to southern China. It is grown in Vietnam, Japan, South-East Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines and India.

Lychee is an attractive, glossy-leafed evergreen growing to a height of 25 to 40 feet. The fruits are bright red, rough, brittle and warty on the outside, with a white, delicious pulp inside. They look like clusters of strawberries hanging at the tips of branches.

The tree requires a warm subtropical to tropical climate that is cool and frost-free. It thrives in well-drained, slightly acidic soil, rich in organic matter.

Culinary uses

Lychees are usually relished fresh. Peeled and pitted, they are commonly added to fruit cups and fruit salads. Lychees, stuffed with cottage cheese, are served as a salad, topped with dressing and pecans. Or the fruit may be stuffed with a blend of cream cheese and mayonnaise, or stuffed with pecan meat and garnished with whipped cream. Sliced lychees, congealed in lime gelatine, are served on lettuce with whipped cream or mayonnaise.

Peeled, de-seeded lychees are canned in sugar syrup in India and China. The fruits are sometimes spiced or pickled, or made into sauce, preserves or wine. Lychee jelly is made from blanched, minced lychees.

Medicinal uses

The fruit is said to relieve cough, gastralgia, tumours and enlarged glands. In China, the seeds are credited with an analgesic action and used to treat neuralgia and orchitis. A tea made with the fruit peel is taken to overcome smallpox eruptions and diarrhoea.

In India, the seeds are powdered and, because of their astringency, administered to relieve intestinal troubles and neuralgic pain Gargling a decoction of the root, bark and flowers helps relieve throat ailments.

Now for a recipe

Litchi Cheesecake Flowers

Ingredients

Lychees: 30 ounces (Canned, peeled, drained and juice reserved) Sugar: half cup, plus 3 tbsp

Lemon juice: 4 tsp

Phyllo sheets: 8 (can be procured readymade)

Butter: quarter cup, melted

Cream cheese: 12 ounces (one-and-a-half large blocks) , at room temperature

Egg: 1 extra-large

Pure vanilla extract: 1 tsp

Fresh lychees for garnish

Method: Prepare lychee sauce. In a small saucepan, boil the reserved lychee juice, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to three-quarter cup. In a food processor or blender, puree the drained, canned lychees. Combine the lychee puree with half a cup of sugar and three teaspoons of lemon juice until the sugar dissolves. Refrigerate the sauce.

Cheesecake flowers

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Spray 12 (2-1/2-inch) muffin cups with vegetable oil spray. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, parchment paper, or freezer paper. Brush with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo on top of the buttered phyllo. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with two more layers, buttering each layer, until the phyllo stack is 4 layers deep. Cut each of the two-phyllo stacks in half, lengthwise, then again into thirds, across. You should have 12 squares. Gently place each phyllo square into greased muffin cups. The four corners of the phyllo squares will overhang to form petals. Set aside.

To prepare filling

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat at medium speed until they combine. Divide the filling evenly amongst the phyllo-lined muffin cups. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned.

Carefully remove cheesecake flowers to a tray to cool. To serve, spoon lychee sauce onto the bottom of individual dessert plates. Top with cheesecake flowers. Garnish with fresh lychees.

GOPI

Senior Chef de Partie,
Verandah,
Taj Connemara

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