Watermelon Pudding with Whipped Cream and Pistachios

Is there a dessert that says summer more than Watermelon Pudding? This recipe is a Sicilian dessert with interesting anise flavours under the watermelon.

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What Makes This Recipe Special?

• The Mediterranean flavour is what sets this dessert apart.
• If you have a bigenough watermelon, you may be able to make this dessert and a Watermelon Cake. You need 4 cups of watermelon for this one and you may get that from the odd pieces you cut off the Watermelon Cake form.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Seedless watermelon is a must here.
• Ever cut into a watermelon and find it is a bit riper than you would like? My heart sinks when I see the porous flesh that spells 'soon to be mushy'. Well - this would be a perfect way to use that up because texture doesn't matter here - just flavour!
• Toppings are optional, as are the amounts. Use as much or as little as you like. No pistachios? Try almonds or skip altogether. The same goes for the chocolate. If you are using chocolate, use good-quality dark chocolate for the best effect.
• This is a traditional Sicilian dessert called 'gelo di melone' that is made with jasmine flower essence. I have not seen that here, so I took direction from the Epicurious recipe and added some fennel seeds. You could use anise seeds as well, but both are totally optional.
• For adults - I added a drop of Pernod to the whipped cream for that anise flavour. And it was delicious! If you decide to try that -beware- Pernod is VERY strong, so 'a little dab'll do ya'! There are also melon or fruit liqueurs out there that might be good too.

How To Make It

• This pudding is a snap to make. Blend, heat, strain, pour. That will cover off the pudding part.
• Then comes the fun part with the whipped cream, pistachio and chocolate toppings.
• This is a great recipe for kids just starting to cook. The thickener is cornstarch, and if you combine the juice and cornstarch in a jar and shake well, you won't have any lumps. (A great precursor to ultimately making gravy!)
• My husband was not a big fan of the consistency of the pudding thickened with cornstarch. It is more like an instant pudding than a jello, so I have included instructions to make it more jello-like with the recipe.

You can make the pudding up to 2 days ahead. If you add cream of tartar to the whipped cream, you could decorate the day before or, to be safe, earlier in the day of serving. Chocolate shavings can go on ahead of time, but I would only sprinkle the nuts just before serving to retain the crunch.

Related Recipes

Watermelon Pudding

Easy summer dessert! Add some Pernod or other fruit liqueur to you whipped cream to fancy it up if you like.

Author: Carolyn Hetke

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 7 minutes mins

Chilling Time: 4 hours hrs

Total Time: 4 hours hrs 22 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups seedless watermelon pieces
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cornstarch see variation below for gelatin version
• ▢ ¼ cup sugar + 1 tsp
• ▢ ½ teaspoon fennel seeds optional
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ▢ ⅓ cup whipping cream
• ▢ 3 tablespoon Pernod optional
• ▢ 2 tablespoon pistachios for garnish crushed
• ▢ 2 tablespoon grated chocolate for garnish preferably good quality dark chocolate

Instructions

Watermelon Pudding

• Blend the watermelon well. Strain puree through a fine sieve and discard any solids.
• Add 2 Tbsps cornstarch to a small jar with a tight fitting lid. Remove 2 Tablespoons of watermelon juice and pour over the cornstarch. Shake very well to remove all lumps. Set aside.
• Bring the remaining watermelon juice, ¼ cup of sugar and fennel seeds to a boil in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Shake the cornstarch jar again and whisk in to the saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer about 3 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir in lemon juice.
• Remove from heat and pour mixture through a fine sieve into a serving bowl or 4 individual cups. Discard solids. Cover and chill about 4 hours to allow pudding to set.

Toppings

• Beat cream with 1 teaspoon of sugar ( and Pernod if using) until medium peaks form. Crush pistachios and grate a bit of dark chocolate.
• Spoon or pipe whipped cream on top of the pudding and sprinkle with pistachio crumbs and chocolate shavings.
• Pudding will keep in the fridge about 2 days.

Notes

Variation:   For a more gelled consistency use gelatin to thicken the pudding.

Take 3 cups of strained watermelon puree and reserve remaining puree for another user.  

Sprinkle 28 grams unflavoured gelatin over ¼ cup of the watermelon puree and set aside for 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile, add the lemon juice and icing sugar (omit fennel seeds) to the  remaining 2 ¾ cups  of puree.  Heat just until the sugar is  dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin mixture. 

Divide among 4 serving cups.  Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours at least.  Will keep covered in the fridge for a couple of days.  Proceed with toppings when ready to serve.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 271mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 1176IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

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