Paleo Foods: Fruit and Nut Petit Fours

Post by John Michael

One of the dilemmas that people face when switching to the Paleo diet is an apparent loss of variety in what they can eat. By becoming Paleo, we leave behind a great number of foods that human ingenuity has fashioned from the products of the agricultural revolution; whether it’s the grain-based cereals that we’ve become accustomed to eating in the morning, or the dairy-based desserts that send us off to bed at night, there’s a lot we leave behind. But, in my experience switching to the Paleo Diet, I’ve found that, instead of having my culinary horizons narrowed, this diet has actually revealed to me the great number of foods and flavors that exist outside of the realms of grains, dairy products, and heavily processed foods. These blogs, which will all be entitled Paleo Foods, are an attempt to share the diversity of delightful flavors that can be found within the alimentary domains of fruits, vegetables, meats, and nuts and oils, which together form the basic components of the Paleo Diet.

I recently visited my friend Iris in Córdoba, and, because it had been over two years since we’d seen one another, we decided to have a celebratory dinner in her apartment. We picked up a chicken at the local supermarket, along with several vegetables, but when Iris began to look for dessert, she learned I couldn’t eat most of her selections. “But can’t you eat anything good on this diet?” she asked, somewhat exasperated. “Well,” I replied, amused by her consternation, “every once in a while I can have dark chocolate.” “I think this is one of those times,” Iris told me, and, laughing, I agreed with her, and bought a bar of Cadbury Intense 50% Cacao (not my first choice). But, when we finished our dinner, and I opened my chocolate bar, I found it to be kind of boring, and so, deciding that it needed some spicing up, I had the idea of Paleo petit fours.

I know that petit fours are, according to their strict definition, bite-sized cakes, generally made of flour or marzipan, but when I hear the term “petit four,” I don’t think of cake, but of a sweet, finger-food dessert. It’s in the spirit of this personal definition that I use the term now. Before continuing, I would like to say that, because honey was probably a rarity in the cuisine of our Paleolithic ancestors, and dark chocolate non-existent, it’s important to treat these petit fours as a special-occasions-only food. With that being said, let’s get to the treats.

Grape and Kiwi with Dark Chocolate

Assembly of this petit four is quite easy, consisting of slicing a grape in half, deseeding it, and then setting it atop a cube of kiwi and a segment of dark chocolate. A small dollop of honey is dropped on the grape, and then chopped almond is sprinkled across the honey.

In the mouth, the two fruits mix together, with the grape’s sweet and refreshing taste playing upon the tongue with the kiwi’s lip-puckering deliciousness, creating a delectable mash that’s accentuated by the honey and anchored by the almond flakes, until the chocolate begins to dominate, and then finishes off the treat as its main flavor.

Banana and Walnut with Dark Chocolate

This is the one that started it all. Iris and I made them from what we had laying around the kitchen, which happened to be bananas and walnuts. Because the banana was too soft for me, I chilled it to increase its solidity; if you do the same, don’t leave it in the fridge for too long, as this can hasten its blackening. Assembly, again, is quite simple: take a banana slice, a chocolate segment, and a walnut, and stack them together.

In my mouth, the banana’s soft sweetness slowly mixed with the chocolate’s sharp and bitter taste, while the walnut, as it was crushed by my teeth, released spurts of its earthy flavor, creating images in my mind of thick-trunked trees towering overhead while I walked below them, enjoying a chocolaty banana treat.

Mandarin Orange with Walnut and Almond

This is the easiest by far of all the petit fours to assemble. Simply take a segment of mandarin orange, drizzle it with honey, and then dust it with either walnut or almond flakes, if not both.

The powerful, though soft, citrus flavor of the orange is heightened by the honey, and then engages in a wrestling match with the nuts for flavor dominance of the tongue, which the orange eventually wins, because there is more of it than there are nuts – although in the end the nuts have their day, as the orange comes apart quickly in the mouth, while the nuts endure a few moments longer, exciting the taste buds with their rich flavor.

Banana and Strawberry with Dark Chocolate

This one only looks complicated. All you have to do is slice a strawberry and a banana thinly, and then stack them one upon the other, topping them with a segment of dark chocolate. Drizzle honey atop the stack, and then dust it with almond flakes, and you’re done.

Strawberries and bananas were meant to go together, and, in this petit four, the mouth tirelessly bounces from one to the other, with the reappearance of each flavor just as miraculous as the first time it appeared. The honey augments the taste of the two fruits, while the chocolate, in the beginning, remains muted, until the lighter ingredients disappear, at which point it fills the mouth, causing me to want another of these petit fours, because I have to know, “Could this really have been as good as my mind tells me it was?”

While Iris and I were completely satisfied with just these four petit-four creations, the possibilities extend far beyond what I’ve offered here. Take a crack at making them yourself, and if you come across one that’s truly wonderful, then let us know about it by posting your recipe in the comments section below.

Related Posts
Paleo Foods: Andean Meats
Paleo Foods: Andean Fruits

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Comments

[The Mother Hen]

Absolutely fabulous! The colors, the flavors, the texture- "perfectly perfect in every way" (Mary Poppins)!
I will advise you that I am working on a project called Paleo-Aperitivo- stay tuned for more.

[la gallina mama]

¡M'encanta!

[John Michael]

Thanks, Mother Hen! I'm looking forward to reading your food blogs!