Horopito and Turmeric Tiramisù
A Peppery "Pick Me Up" using our native pepper tree and some other kai ideas to celebrate Matariki.
Matariki is a celebration of family and community, first and foremost. A time of reflection, preparation and renewal. Sharing kai (food) has always been a way to celebrate, however it is also an effective medium to connect with both the living and the dead, and even the spiritual world.
Using your grandmother's or your great-grandmother's recipes, I believe, honours her with a really high level of respect. It is a magical ritual and a natural form of ancestor veneration or devotion. The food, their recipe you recreate doesn't stop with them, but continues the long line of knowledge, skills and recipes past to you through them, and on to them before, and so on.
If your maternal (or paternal!) line weren't particularly great cooks, researching cultural recipes can offer a similar ancestral veneration. Not only the recipes, but the skills such as foraging and collecting, kneading the dough in a certain way, shaping the pasta, browning the sauce. Methods you continue to do as you were shown by those who have now passed is also honouring your lineage. As is using their prized dinner set, tea cups or tablecloth.
All these can be thought of as offerings, as memorials, as rituals and as an initiation to future generations.
Kai is not just fuel. Sure it brings us sustenance, gives us energy, but more importantly sharing kai brings connection, within families, but also often on a larger scale of community. Food creates memories, shapes stepping stones and builds pathways for the future to follow.
Whilst below I have shared a few (hopefully new to you) ideas using native and popular ingredients in te ao Māori which you could make over Matariki weekend. I'd like to also encourage you revisit your own whānau's favourites, no matter your whakapapa / ancestry. Make sure they are written down and ready for the future.
Pūhā or Rauriki (sow thistle) is a forageable wild green popular with Māori, often traditionally as an ingredient in “Boil up” with pork bones, a type of potage stew or soup. A vegetarian style “boil up” utilising the umami flavour of miso is also popular. One of my favourite ways to use pūhā is by substituting it in place of spinach in an Indian saag style curry sauce. Together with cubes of roasted kūmara and some chickpeas it’s a delightful and comforting curry you could serve with Parāoa Parai / fry bread. If you cannot find or forage enough sow thistle, you can always use a mixture of wild greens and/or purpose grown leaves, or indeed just spinach.
Matariki Friday’s brunch, could be these “Kūmara Pikelets with Tamarilo and Horopito sauce.”
Horopito is part of the aromatic Winteraceae family. There are several varieties but the most commonly used and cultivated is the mountainous, “Pseudowintera colorata”, also commonly known as the native pepper tree. Horopito has been an important traditional medicine and pain killer for Māori. It has a spicy kick which builds, often it may not feel particularly spicy to begin with, so some caution is advised before you chew on too much. You can indeed chew it raw, infuse teas and oils, or dry it for later use in spice rubs, salt blends and flavourings. It is also used as an external medicine for aiding circulation and chilblains.
To make my “Horopito and Turmeric Tiramisù” below, I made a tea from fresh horopito leaves I foraged. I was actually incredibly blessed to find a recent and fresh clipping from where an arborist had been working. When foraging for anything please do be respectful and mindful. Māori always ask with a karakia / prayer of permission before taking anything. Know and learn exactly what you are collecting, do not take from juvenile or diseased plants, do not take too much, and certainly never more than you need.
Alternatively you can purchase dried horopito for tea and in tea blends (Yes, with turmeric too!) from health food shops and online.
I prefer the taste of fresh turmeric root in this case, but you certainly can use dried and powdered turmeric if that is all that is available to you. This is a strong brew, to counter the richness of the mascarpone in the tiramisù. If you are to drink this as “tea” I suggest you dilute it with rather more boiling water, possibly double. It’s a lovely tea, fantastic for inflammation and sore throats with the addition of some honey. If you cannot locate horopito, you can substitute it using a generous grind of black peppercorns, it won’t be quite the same but still very pleasant. Also don’t throw the strained pulp! It can be added to curries, soups or even ferments, I often pop it in the freezer until I have a couple of batches to use.
Horopito and Turmeric Tea
3 to 4 fresh horopito leaves, bruised and thinly sliced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated (approximately 2 tablespoons)
3/4 inch piece of fresh turmeric, grated (1.5 tablespoons)
the grated zest of 1 orange
320ml of boiling water
Place everything into a preheated teapot, or pouring jug and pour over the boiling water. Leave to infuse for at least 5 minutes. Strain (and dilute with more water hot water and sweeten if desiring for tea) or continue as below for the tiramisù.
Horopito and Turmeric Tiramisù
A Peppery Pick Me Up - Tiramisù is Italian for “pick me up” or “cheer me up” no doubt refering to the strong coffee in the original. This one has plenty of pep, but it won’t be keeping you awake at night!
300 grams / 10 oz of mascarpone
1 x 200g / 8 oz packet of Savoiardi (sponge finger biscuits)
2 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons of caster sugar (honey or other sweetener of choice)
1 and 1/4 cups of Horopito and Turmeric tea (see headnote)
2 tablespoons of vodka, triple sec or other orange flavoured spirit (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric
Strain the turmeric tea and add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar or sweetener of choice, mix together with the vodka.
Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks.
In another bowl beat together the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until the mixture thickens, fold through the mascarpone.
Fold 1 third of the beaten egg whites into the mascarpone mixture to loosen, then fold in the remaining 2 thirds.
Quickly dip the sponge fingers into the tea and arrange into 4 individual dishes or one larger dish, approximately 1.5 litre capacity in a single snug fitting layer - break up the biscuits if necessary.
Spoon half the mascarpone mixture over the first layer of sponge fingers.
With the remaining sponge fingers build a second layer dipped into the the tea. Spread the remaining mascarpone mixture over the top.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours, dust lightly with a mixture of the ground turmeric and cinnamon before serving.
Serves 4.
Ngā mihi o te tau hou, wishing you a very happy new year!
Seasons Blessings 💫
Bron
I’m now looking out for Horopito to add to my morning cuppa, I always start my day with ginger tea. Sometimes with fresh turmeric too. How timely too that just this week I’ve been thinking about my grandmothers baking, she was a farmers wife and every day there was both morning and afternoon tea. I have two of her teacups that I always chose as a child, for our weekly visits. I’ve been wondering if she had a recipe notebook and where it went.
I love all things with fresh turmeric!! Love your photography and thanks for sharing the recipes, it all looks so yummy!