Kūmara jam tarts
Jess Granada (Nanam)
This dish is not only a childhood favourite, but a tribute to the way our culture has found a new home here in Aotearoa. ‘Ube’ means two things in the Philippines: it’s a colour and a purple yam. We don’t have ube in Aotearoa, and finding purple kūmara has been a perfect alternative — less starchy, but still sweet. Every Filipino loves ube, and it is used in various savoury but mostly sweet dishes. Ube having only one season in most parts of the Philippines, my family and I would travel to Baguio City, up in the mountains, just to get the best ube jam, made by the Madres nuns: Good Shepherd Ube Jam, Baguio’s most iconic product.
Makes 12-15 tarts
Cook time: 120 min
2 packets of store-bought puff pastry
Custard
½ cup whole milk
3 tbsp cornflour
½ cup whipping cream
2-5cm piece vanilla bean pod, split down the length of the pod (or you can use a tsp of vanilla essence)
3 large egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar
Kūmara jam
1kg purple kūmara (cooked weight 800g)
300g condensed milk
10g salt
50g butter
To make the custard
Combine milk and cream in a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan. Using a knife, scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the seeds and pod to the pot. Bring milk mixture to a simmer, then remove from heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture. Return the milk mixture to the saucepan and stir over low heat until the custard thickens, about 5 min (do not boil). If the custard is lumpy, push the mixture through a sieve. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Chill custard in the fridge while you make the jam.
To make the kūmara jam
Preheat the oven to 165°C.
Roast the kūmara until soft. You don’t want it to be too brown or crispy on the outside. Cooking time will depend on the size of your kūmara. Check after 45 min. Use a small knife to poke it in the middle to check if it is cooked all the way through.
Leave the kūmara to cool. When they are safe to touch, peel off the skin using your hands. Discard the skin.
Using a heavy-based saucepan or thick iron wok, add all the ingredients and kūmara flesh. Using a spatula or spoon, mash the kūmara into the other ingredients and stir over a low to medium heat for about 15-30 min. Mix continuously to avoid the bottom from catching and burning. Cook until the jam resembles a light mashed-potato consistency.
Once the jam has reached the desired consistency, pour into a heat-proof bowl or sterilised glass jar and leave to cool (about 15 min).
To assemble the tarts
Preheat your oven to 220°C and grease 12 mini pie pans about 9cm x 2.5cm in size. Alternatively you could make smaller tarts using a jumbo muffin try.
Cut 12 puff pastry circles to fit your pans and line each one.
Add 70g (4-5 tbsp) of kūmara jam to each tart case, and top with 30g (1.5 tbsp) of custard.
Bake tarts for 20 min, or until the top is dark golden.
Cool the tarts in the tin for 2 min before removing and cooling on a wire rack.
Jess Granada is Head Chef of Nanam, a Filipino-Spanish-inspired restaurant in Takapuna. Nanam humbly started at the markets and is now in the heart of the North Shore, serving people Filipino culture through their dishes and representing Filipinos’ love of hospitality. With her partner Andrew, Jess has been on this journey since opening their first store back in 2014. They hope to encourage and inspire people to showcase themselves as they did, through food.