Mousse de Maracujá (a nice complement to a whole lot of beef)

One of my favourite Brazilian desserts is mousse de maracujá or passion fruit mousse. Although there are over four hundred different varieties of the passion flower, only a few dozen produce edible fruit, the most common types being the yellow, purple, sweet, and giant. Some varieties are also known by the name granadilla.

The passion fruit was named in the 1500s by Spanish missionaries in the Americas who likened the plant's flower to the Passion of Christ, as each part of the flower represented an aspect of Christ's crucifiction (the crown of thorns, the nails, the whips) and even the leaves representing the grasping hands of the soldiers. In Portuguese and Spanish, a variation of the indigenous word for the fruit is more commonly used.

Alone, the yellowy-orange pulp of the passion fruit has a tangy, slightly sour taste. Made into a mousse, it is a delicious mixture of sweet and sour that just melts in the mouth. It's possible to find fresh passion fruit in Canada, but it isn't cheap, with individual fruits costing approximately C$1 each. Another option is to use concentrate juice or frozen pulp available at Latin American grocery stores.

It turns out that passion fruit is a relaxant, a fact I didn't know for the longest time. When I did finally discover this, my extreme tiredness after overdosing on all things passion fruit became much clearer! Now I try to limit my consumption to evenings when it is getting closer to time for bed anyway. A quick check of natural medicines in a Canadian pharmacy showed that indeed, passion fruit was an ingredient in many products.

Although the mousse is one of my favourite passion fruit creations, the fruit is also terrific for sauces and vinaigrettes. For those who wish to try their hands at Portuguese, the Maracujá website has many terrific-looking recipes. A recipe in English for chicken salad with passion fruit vinaigrette can be found on the Fresh King website.

In the meantime, try out an easy version of Mousse de Maracujá:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I never said that the dessert was particularly healthy, although the fruit themselves are full of good things)
same measure of passion fruit juice
3 egg whites
1 envelope unflavoured gelatin

Blend the condensed milk and passion fruit juice. Dissolve the gelatin according to the packages instructions. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the condensed milk / juice mixture. Add the gelatin and stir. Pour into molds and refrigerate until set. Enjoy!