Lebanese Fruit Cocktail with Ashta and Pistachios

Name: Lebanese Fruit Cocktail with Ashta and Pistachios
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients: 1½ cups (360 ml) whole milk, cold, divided: 60 ml (¼ cup) for the slurry, 300 ml (1¼ cups) for heating; 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, cold; 3 tbsp (24 g) cornstarch; 2 tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar; 1 tsp (5 ml) rose water; 2 large (450 g) ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) cubes (about 450 g / 2½ cups of flesh); 10½ oz (300 g) strawberries, rinsed, hulled, quartered (halved if small); 3 medium (330 g) ripe bananas, peeled, sliced ¼ inch (6 mm) thick, just before assembling; 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice; 2 tbsp (42 g) honey; 1 tsp (5 ml) rose water; ½ cup (60 g) raw unsalted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped; 2 tbsp (42 g) honey, for drizzling

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Layers of ripe mango, banana and strawberries are tossed in a honey and rose water dressing, then stacked in glasses with silky homemade ashta cream. Chopped pistachios and a honey drizzle finish it, in the style of a Lebanese juice-bar dessert.

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 12 min
Wait: 2 hr 30 min
Total: 3 hr 12 min
Makes: 6 glasses (about 300 ml / 10 oz each)

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Ingredients

6 servings

For the ashta cream
1½ cups (360 ml) whole milk, cold, divided: 60 ml (¼ cup) for the slurry, 300 ml (1¼ cups) for heating
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, cold
3 tbsp (24 g) cornstarch
2 tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) rose water
For the fruit
2 large (450 g) ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) cubes (about 450 g / 2½ cups of flesh)
10½ oz (300 g) strawberries, rinsed, hulled, quartered (halved if small)
3 medium (330 g) ripe bananas, peeled, sliced ¼ inch (6 mm) thick, just before assembling
1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp (42 g) honey
1 tsp (5 ml) rose water
To serve
½ cup (60 g) raw unsalted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp (42 g) honey, for drizzling

Equipment (10)

Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan (2-quart / 2 L)
Whisk
Heatproof spatula
Plastic wrap
Large mixing bowl
Small bowl for the dressing
Cutting board and sharp knife
Small dry skillet (8-inch / 20 cm)
6 glasses or dessert cups, about 300 ml (10 oz) each
Measuring cups and spoons

Steps

Before you start

Make the ashta first: it needs at least 2 hours to chill and set, so start the recipe well ahead of serving.
Use ripe but firm fruit. Mangoes should give slightly when pressed and smell sweet at the stem end.
Chill six 300 ml (10 oz) glasses or tall dessert cups in the fridge while you work.
Rose water varies in strength. Start with the amounts given and taste before adding more.

1
Make the slurry
- In the saucepan, off the heat, whisk the cornstarch and sugar together.
- Pour in 60 ml (¼ cup) of the cold milk and whisk until completely smooth with no dry lumps or streaks of starch.
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Ready when: The mixture looks like smooth, thin, milky paste with no lumps.
Tip: Mixing the starch with cold liquid first prevents lumps in the finished cream.
2
Warm milk and cream
- Whisk the remaining 300 ml (1¼ cups) milk and all of the heavy cream into the slurry.
- Set the pan over medium heat and stir constantly with the whisk, scraping the bottom and corners, for about 3 minutes.
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Ready when: Steam rises and tiny bubbles form at the edges, and the liquid just starts to feel slightly heavier on the whisk.
Tip: Do not walk away. Milk scorches on the bottom quickly once it starts to thicken.
3
Thicken the cream
- Lower the heat to medium-low.
- Keep whisking for 4 to 6 minutes as the mixture thickens and begins to bubble slowly.
- Once a few thick bubbles pop, cook 1 more minute, stirring, to cook out the starchy taste.
- Remove from the heat.
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Ready when: The cream is as thick as soft pudding and leaves a clear trail when you drag a spatula across the bottom of the pan.
Tip: It will firm up further as it chills, so stop when it is thick but still pourable from the spatula.
4
Flavor and chill ashta
- Stir in 1 tsp (5 ml) rose water.
- Scrape the cream into a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to stop a skin forming.
- Cool on the counter for 20 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours total, until cold and set like a thick custard.
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Ready when: Cream is fully cold and jiggles slightly when the bowl is tilted.
Tip: You can make it up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge.
5
Toast the pistachios
- While the ashta chills, toast the pistachios in a dry 8-inch (20 cm) skillet over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, shaking the pan often.
- Tip them onto a board to cool, then chop coarsely into pieces about the size of a lentil.
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Ready when: The nuts smell nutty and look slightly deeper green, with no browned spots.
Tip: Pistachios go from toasted to bitter fast. Remove them from the pan as soon as they smell fragrant.
6
Prepare the fruit
- About 30 minutes before you plan to serve, hull and quarter the strawberries.
- Cut the mango flesh into ½-inch (1.25 cm) cubes.
- Put the strawberries and mango into a large bowl.
- Leave the bananas for later.
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Ready when: Fruit pieces are roughly the same size so they fit on a spoon.
Tip: Keep the pieces about ½ inch (1.25 cm) so they layer neatly against the glass.
7
Dress the fruit
- In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, 2 tbsp honey and 1 tsp rose water until the honey dissolves.
- Pour over the strawberries and mango and fold gently with a spatula until every piece is glossy.
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Ready when: The fruit is evenly coated and a little syrup pools at the bottom of the bowl.
Tip: Warm the honey for 10 seconds in the microwave if it is too stiff to whisk.
8
Add the banana
- Slice the bananas ¼ inch (6 mm) thick and fold them into the dressed fruit right before assembling, so the lemon and honey coat them.
- Stir just 3 or 4 times.
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Ready when: Banana slices are lightly glossy and still intact, not mashed.
Tip: Slicing the banana last keeps it from browning and turning mushy.
9
Layer the glasses
- Take the ashta from the fridge and stir it until smooth; if it is too stiff to spoon, loosen with 1 tbsp cold milk.
- In each chilled glass, spoon 2 tbsp ashta, then about ⅓ cup of fruit with a little syrup.
- Repeat for 3 layers of each, finishing with a layer of fruit.
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Ready when: Each glass has 3 distinct layers of cream and colorful fruit, with ashta visible against the glass.
Tip: Spoon the ashta into the center first and press the fruit around it so the layers look clean.
10
Chill and garnish
- Refrigerate the glasses uncovered for 30 minutes so the flavors meld.
- Just before serving, top each with a dollop of the remaining ashta if you saved some, a generous spoonful of pistachios, and a drizzle of 1 tsp honey from the 2 tbsp for drizzling.
- Serve cold with long spoons.
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Ready when: Glasses are cold to the touch and the pistachios are scattered on top.
Tip: Add the pistachios at the last minute so they stay crunchy.

Good to know

Tips

Press plastic wrap right onto the surface of the warm ashta so no skin forms.
Rose water is strong. Too much tastes soapy, so add it by the teaspoon and taste.
Keep the glasses chilled before layering so the cream stays firm and the layers look neat.
If the ashta is lumpy, whisk it vigorously or press it through a fine sieve before layering.

Make ahead

"Make the ashta up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered with plastic wrap pressed on the surface in the fridge. Toast and chop the pistachios up to 2 days ahead and store airtight at room temperature. Cut the mango and strawberries up to 4 hours ahead, but slice the banana and assemble within 1 hour of serving."

Storage & reheating

"Assembled glasses keep covered in the fridge for up to 1 day, though the banana softens and darkens slightly after about 4 hours. Plain ashta keeps 2 days in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing, as the cream turns grainy and the fruit becomes watery. Serve straight from the fridge; no reheating needed."

Substitutions

heavy cream → Store-bought clotted cream (qashta) or mascarpone. Skip the cooking in steps 1 to 3 and use about 300 g of clotted cream or mascarpone loosened with 2 tbsp milk, plus the rose water and 1 tbsp sugar.
ripe mangoes → Ripe peaches, kiwi or pineapple. Use the same weight, cut to the same size. Drain canned fruit well.
raw unsalted shelled pistachios → Slivered almonds or toasted pine nuts. Use the same amount; toast the same way.
honey → Sugar syrup or agave. Use equal amounts; agave is the closest in sweetness.