Recipes
Browse by: Dish Type Ingredient Cuisine Cooking Method Diet Season Menus Recipe Collections Quick Dinners View All
How-Tos
Cooking Techniques Ingredient Guides Equipment Kitchen Tips Entertaining View All
Product Recs
Equipment Reviews Taste Tests Buying Guides Editors' Picks Books Shop View All
Culture
Cuisine Guides Food History Food Science Personal Essays Podcast Travel Diaries Profiles Food Industry SE HQ View All
Dining Out
Boston Chicago Los Angeles New Orleans New York Philadelphia Portland, OR San Francisco Washington, DC View All
Game Day
Chili Dips and Spreads Drinks Guacamole Mains Nachos Salsas Snacks Sweets Wings View All
Your account
Saved Recipes > Newsletters >
Follow us
Recipes
Browse by: Dish Type Ingredient Cuisine Cooking Method Diet Season Menus Recipe Collections Quick Dinners View All
How-Tos
Cooking Techniques Ingredient Guides Equipment Kitchen Tips Entertaining View All
Product Recs
Equipment Reviews Taste Tests Buying Guides Editors' Picks Books Shop View All
Culture
Cuisine Guides Food History Food Science Personal Essays Podcast Travel Diaries Profiles Food Industry SE HQ View All
Dining Out
Boston Chicago Los Angeles New Orleans New York Philadelphia Portland, OR San Francisco Washington, DC View All
Game Day
Chili Dips and Spreads Drinks Guacamole Mains Nachos Salsas Snacks Sweets Wings View All
Saved recipes > Newsletters >

Search for recipes and articles

Popular Searches

Staff Favorites

  • Burgers
  • Korean
  • Corn
  • New York City
More Breadcrumbs
  • Dining Out
  • New York City

Riffing on Blueberries and Lemons at Pearl & Ash, NYC

Lauren Rothman
0 Printer-Friendly Version
Published: August 7, 2013 Last Updated: August 9, 2018
2013723PearlandAshSweetsBlueberry-edit.jpg

Blueberry dessert. [Photographs: Maryse Chevriere]

The last time we visited Richard Kuo's Bowery restaurant Pearl & Ash, we sampled all of the cocktails on the menu. Most recently, we stopped in to try pastry chef Serena Chow's new summer desserts, titled, simply, Lemon and Blueberry.

Those one-word names belie the fastidious, multi-layered, multi-textured complexity of Chow's creations, which start with one simple component then spin off into many different directions, which, ultimately, come together as one cohesive whole.

Take, for example, the Blueberry dessert, which all began with Chow's quest to make a flawless blueberry sorbet.

"It started with the sorbet," Chow said. "I had to perfect that first. It's so hot out, I wanted to create something super bright and cold. And since blueberries are available right now, it made sense for the sorbet to be blueberry."

Chow started experimenting with the dish by cooking up a blueberry compote; one day, it occurred to her to spin the compote's excess liquid into a honey frozen yogurt base: she had her sorbet.

After that, the dessert's other components were added on: the compote, of course, as well as a tender crème fraîche cake; a crispy-crunchy "milk foam;" some micro lemon basil; and a drizzle of honey, that "gets chewy when it hits the cold sorbet."

The end result is a sort of deconstructed blueberry shortcake—albeit the most complex blueberry shortcake you've ever seen.

2013723PearlandAshSweetsLemon-edit.jpg

What's New On Serious Eats

Chow's deconstructed lemon meringue pie is also based on one element: dehydrated lemon cake, which becomes flaky and crispy after a trip to the dehydrator.

"I wanted the texture of a crust without making a crust," Chow explained.

The lemon cake is only one of six lemony elements on the plate, which also features a lemon powder the cake is rolled in; lemon custard and lemon curd; a scoop of lemon sorbet; and tiny leaves of lemon thyme. A pile of brown butter milks solids become rich and crispy, reminiscent of that cookie crunch you sometimes get on your frozen yogurt.

The two desserts are featured on the summer menu, but will change seasonally, so check in with the restaurant for availability.

All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.

Lauren Rothman Almost-Vegetarian, Blogger, Urban Gardener

A recent graduate of the City University of New York's journalism program, Lauren was born, raised, and still resides in Brooklyn. She has been an avid cook and food lover since childhood. Here on Serious Eats, you can check out her drinks and recipes coverage.

0 Printer-Friendly Version
Tags
  • first look
  • new york city
  • pearl & ash
  • serena chow
  • New York City
More Breadcrumbs
  • Dining Out
  • New York City
HIDE COMMENTS
Sign In or Register
No comments
Comments are closed
HIDE COMMENTS

Popular Recipes

Chicken

Serious Eats' Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice With White Sauce 

Take the Halal cart home with you.

Caroline Russock
Bread

Aloo Paratha With Spiced Potato Filling

Crisp yet tender flatbreads stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes.

Nik Sharma
American

Classic Italian-American Spaghetti With Meatballs

For more meatball flavor, break some meatballs down into the sauce.

Daniel Gritzer
Appetizers and Hors d'Oeuvres

Jamaican Pepper Shrimp

That red color tells you what you need to know: They're HOT!

Jillian Atkinson
Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest recipes and tips!

More New York City

Behind the Scenes: Making Edible Blown Glass at Aureole, NYC

Behind the Scenes: Making Edible Blown Glass at Aureole, NYC

Where to Get Great Hamantaschen in NYC

Where to Get Great Hamantaschen in NYC

Where To Get Chocolates For Your Valentine (...or Yourself) in NYC

Where To Get Chocolates For Your Valentine (...or Yourself) in NYC

Serious Eats
  • Latest
  • Masthead
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Jobs
  • Sitemap
  • FAQ

Follow Us

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your California Privacy Rights
  • © 2021 Serious Eats Inc., by Dotdash

Welcome! Please sign in.

Forgot password?