One of my favorite in-season winter ingredients is citrus. When I saw this gorgeous Persian dessert in Naz Deravian’s cookbook Bottom of the Pot, I knew I wanted to try it! It is as tasty as it is beautiful, but I was surprised to discover it’s incredibly easy to make, as well.

Deravian’s recipe calls for simple orange juice, but I wanted to celebrate the season by highlighting the juice from three different citruses: satsuma mandarins, clementines, and tangerines. If you choose to use fresh citrus juice, be sure to strain out the pulp through cheesecloth!

TIP: remember to start this dessert the day before you wish to serve it; it needs to set overnight in the fridge.

Three Citrus Masghati with Raspberry Puree
(Original recipe: Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian)

To make the masghati
Butter (to grease dish)
3 C citrus juice, pulp strained out and divided
6 TBSP cornstarch
3 TBSP sugar

Lightly butter a rimmed 1-2 inch deep dish (a regular pie plate works well). Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the orange juice with the cornstarch. Stir until completely smooth, without any lumps, and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the rest of the orange juice (2 cups) and the sugar over medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar.

Give the cornstarch slurry a final stir to combine and add it to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and start stirring immediately. Continue stirring until it starts to thicken and set, about 3-5 minutes, or when it coats the back of a wooden spoon. It will keep setting as it cools. Remove from the heat, immediately pour into the prepared dish, and smooth over. Set aside to cool on a counter until it reaches room temperature. Place in the fridge, uncovered, for 6 to 8 hours to fully set and chill.

Meanwhile, make the raspberry puree
12 ounces raspberries, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup hot water (I used an electric kettle)

Set 6 oz raspberries aside to use as a garnish.

Place the remaining 6 oz raspberries, the sugar, and hot water in a blender. Blitz until smooth. Transfer to a small jar and store in the fridge until ready to use.

To serve the masghati
Run a butter knife around the rim of the dish and invert the masghati onto a serving platter. Serve cold, topped with the raspberry sauce, and garnished with the remaining raspberries.

Masghati is best prepared up to 1 day in advance. It will keep, covered, in the fridge up to 3 days.