Lemon sago

Photographer: Emma
Serves 4-6

This is a dish which for me harks back to my childhood.  My brothers and I would delight in the times that Mum would surreptitiously turn to the fridge after the dinner plates had been cleared, gingerly removing from it 5 dainty glass serving dishes all filled with lemon sago.  Dessert was a rare treat in our household so occasions like this were few and far between. With its gooey texture and wee jelly-like sago balls we would affectionately refer to this dessert as frog’s eggs and thus eating it was always twice as fun!

What I love about lemon sago is that is a light, unfussy, fresh dessert and even as an adult I still find myself referring to it as frog’s eggs and delight in eating it just as much as I did when we would eat all those years ago.

INGREDIENTS


½ cup sago
3 cups water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 lemon, zested finely
3 tbsp golden syrup


Cream, lightly whipped
Toasted coconut flakes

METHOD


1. Place the sago and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan and very gently bring to the boil, making sure the sago does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes or so or until most of the little grains of sago are clear.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, golden syrup, lemon juice and rind. Divide the mixture between 4-6 (depending on how big you want your portions to be) dessert dishes/glasses and place in the fridge to set.
3. Serve with lightly whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes.