Cherimoya Pudding with Toasted Pistachios

I’m pretty adventuresome when it comes to trying new things. I’m always the one dragging us to a new restaurant, taking new roads, reading about new travel destinations and ordering new things off the menu. Sometimes things backfire on me and I wonder why I didn’t just stick to the usual. Like the one time I dragged A and my sisters out to a local Korean restaurant and the result was disastrous on so many levels. Or the time in Italy when I commandeered the whole family through the backstreets of Venice in search of a hole-in-the-wall shop serving fried zucchini flowers only to find that they had recently shut it down. And the time I thought it would be a good idea to try my own hand at making ahi tuna without knowing the least bit about tuna. $20 down the drain.

Not all my ventures have had poor endings, though. Some have reaped some pretty amazing results.

Like today’s recipe. I ordered Cherimoya mainly because I had never tried it before. In fact, I had never even heard of this custard-like fruit. I spent a bit of time researching the fruit because as a nerd, I like to learn a few things about the things I eat. I discovered that a) the fruit is thought to be indigenous to South or Central America b) the seeds are poisonous and obvs inedible c) cherimoya is now found in parts of the Middle East d) the fruit is full of vitamins, including Vitamin B.

So what about the flavor? If you are a fan of creamy things with a bit of a tang, this is the fruit for you. Cherimoya is delicious on its own, bursting with various flavors of banana, pineapple and a few other fruits. However, it’s fun to use in this recipe. The flavor of cherimoya is subtle but perfect and it’s topped with pistachios.

Yield: ~ 5 servings