|
 =
Fresh, Canned and in Cakes
Reviewer: The Rebecca Review
"I fervently hope that soon, Passionfruit will become
as ubiquitous as the Kiwi Fruit. As demand rises, production will
rise and prices will drop." ~Patrick Jesse Pons-Worley
As a child in Africa, I patiently waited for our
granadilla vine to produce exotic flowers. Finally a fruit
appeared and seemed to age on the vine as it developed a deep
purple dimpled skin. Once ripe, the granadillas/passionfruit were
cut in half and the golden fragrant pulp speckled with black seeds
could be strained and used in a variety of desserts and drinks.
The problem with falling in love with granadillas/passionfruit
is that it is very difficult to find unless you live near a
grocery store that is willing to carry the "best tasting
fruits on earth." On this, Patrick Jesse Pons-Worley and I
agree.
I was quite excited to find his new cookbook. Not
only are the recipes just amazing, I am already getting requests
to make his "Passionfruit Spice Cake" again! It is RARE to find a cookbook for
passionfruit. Trust me, I've
looked.
Patrick is also an artist and designed the cover.
The Contents Include:
About Passionfruit - Patrick explains the
passionfruit vine, different varieties, the fruit itself and
explains how to get rid of the seeds.
Beverages - Everything from a Passionfruit Smoothie to
Passionfruit Lime Punch.
Passionfruit Jams, Jellies - Imagine waking up in the
morning and spreading Passionfruit jelly on your toast. How
exotic!
Passionfruit Syrups and Sauces - There are many uses for
passionfruit syrups. They are delicious with meringues and exotic
fruit. You can make a Passionfruit Ginger sauce to serve over
baked bananas or make a simple Passionfruit-honey syrup.
Gelatins and Puddings - Passionfruit curd can be spread on
toast like lemon curd. Passionfruit Custard Filling will really
surprise your guests. You can put this filling in cakes.
Frozen Desserts - A variety of sorbet and ice cream recipes
including Passion Kiwi Sorbet and Passionfruit Ice Cream.
Cookies, Bars and Candy - Imagine sugar cookies with an
exotic twist. The Purple Ribbon Passionfruit Pecan Fudge looks
absolutely decadent.
Quick Breads and Baked Goods- Passionfruit adds a very
subtle flavor to baked goods. Try a Passionfruit Roll with a
Passionfruit filling.
Cakes- All I can say is: PASSIONFRUIT SPICE CAKE!
Print this section if you want to make the
cakes with a delicate spice flavor: For the cake I made, I adapted the recipe and only
used 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon allspice. I also used
"all butter" instead of shortening and strained canned
passionfruit for the passionfruit juice. Patrick uses quite a bit
more spice in his cake. I also ended up making a filling of (2
cans passionfruit, strained and blended with 1 tablespoon
cornstarch and ¼ cup Apricot jam.) You heat the mixture for 5
minutes and then spread it between cake layers. I also doubled the
icing (plus used more confectioners' sugar) and baked the mixture
in three cake pans. That way, I just sliced the cakes in half,
spread them with the filling and iced them. Perfect for surprising
three friends in the Fall. A wonderful passionfruit spice cake
experience.
Everyone I made the cake for, loved it! So, order some
passionfruit in cans or order fresh passionfruit and enter the
world of exotic cooking.
Pies- Dreaming of summer recipes? Well, Passionfruit-Orange
Meringue Pie might become a favorite.
Side Dishes - By the time I got to this chapter, I was
feeling a little heady. I've never thought of putting passionfruit
in a recipe for chicken. Ok, I'm in love with this book.
Salads and Dressings- Passion Cucumber Salad might become a
picnic favorite. The ingredients include balsamic vinegar.
Poultry, Meat and Fish- Imagine making a Passionfruit BBQ
Sauce or a Passionfruit Tuna Fish filling.
Growing Your Own Passionfruit - Patrick Jesse Pons-Worley
is an expert on growing passionfruit and he gives some great tips
about growing your own vines. You might want to look for his book:
Passiflora Handbook for American Growers.
Index - Quickly locate all your favorite recipes.
To say the least, I'm quite impressed with this
cookbook. The recipes are easy to make and the instructions are
easy to follow. The author is an expert at growing this fruit and
has been creating recipes for years. This book is
a true gift to the world!
Passionfruit & Exotic
Produce
This fruit reminds me of my
childhood. I miss watching the passionfruit ripen on the
vine.
To find passionfruit, you almost have to order it
online. Which is what I've ended up doing. You can find it in cans
that are distributed by Protea Imports online or you can order
them from Melissa's.
You might also love the deluxe exotic fruit basket
that may contain any of the following:
Asian Pears, Baby, Red or Manzano Bananas, Baby Pineapples, Blood
Oranges, Cherimoyas, Coconuts, Feijoas, Kiwano Melons, Kiwis,
Kumquats, Lychees, Mangos, Passionfruit, Persimmons, Pomegranates,
Sapotes, Star fruits, Strawberry Papayas, or Tamarillos.
Fresh Passionfruit
Papaya is divine with muscovado sugar and freshly
squeezed lemon juice. Just let it get syrupy overnight in the
refrigerator. Kumquats are like tiny sweet/sour oranges that you
just eat whole or slice up for decorations. It is a "make a
face" experience, but what a divine one. We used to pick the
off the trees on the way home from school in Africa. Same with the
Pomegranates growing on bushes near our home. What a life. I've
started making "semi-preserved" star fruits. I make them
and eat them in a few days. They are also perfect for drinks.
Lychees are so delicious. You peel the thin skin off the fruit and
reveal a very juicy almost translucent glossy grape like fruit.
They almost remind me of an exotic perfume. Blood
oranges were all the rage in gourmet recipes for a few years. I
still see they are quite popular.
Fresh Passionfruit is a true luxury. If you can
afford it, order more than you think you will need. They really
don't have that much "filling/flesh" but the flavor is
quite exotic. If you order the cookbooks, they will tell you how
to blend the pulp with juice to make
a mixture you can use in recipes.
It would be fun to join this club: Melissa's 6 Month Exotic Fruit Club
If you start shopping for exotic produce, you
might enjoy:
The Purple Kiwi Cookbook by Karen Caplan – this
cookbook has recipes for lots of exotic produce.
 Delicious Canned Passionfruit
Granadilla is Passionfruit/Passion Fruit, December 10, 2005
As a child in Africa, I patiently waited for our granadilla vine
to produce exotic flowers. Finally a fruit appeared and seemed to
age on the vine as it developed a deep purple dimpled skin. Once
ripe, the granadillas-or passion fruit-were cut in half and the
golden fragrant pulp speckled with black seeds could be strained
and used in a variety of desserts and drinks. Here is a favorite
recipe using this product.
2 (115-gram) cans sweetened granadilla pulp
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup orange blossom or clover honey
2 cups cold water
Lemon slices
Fresh mint sprigs
1. Into a medium bowl, press the granadilla pulp through a sieve
with the back of a dessert spoon. Scrape the pulp from
the underside of the sieve. Press the pulp from the top until
just the seeds remain, discard the seeds.
2. Pour the granadilla juice into a glass jug. Strain in the
orange and lemon juice, then stir in honey and water. Sweeten more
to taste if needed. Ice will dilute the juice slightly.
3. Fill 4 tall glasses with ice. Pour juice over ice and serve
with a straw, lemon slice and fresh mint sprig.
Makes 4 (8-ounce) servings.
~The Rebecca Review
Lychees &
A Recipe
with Passionfruit Juice
Lychees
New Year's Resolution - Eat More Lychees, December 12, 2005
Lychees are a delicious fruit we used to eat in Africa and
the taste is somewhere between a delicate sweet honey and the
combined texture of a pineapple and a peach. They are a creamy
white fruit with a hard thin shell.
They are definitely enhanced when you empty the liquid into a
saucepan and add in passionfruit juice. Once you reduce the
liquid, you can then soak the Lychees in the syrup overnight for a
delicious passionfruit flavored Lychee fruit treat.
The Lychees can be sliced and used in exotic sauces served over
Salmon. Why just the other night there I was wondering what to do
with half a can of Lychees and the idea occurred to me. The recipe
uses three Lychees and ingredients like mango chutney and Cabernet
Sauvignon.
So to make the Salmon with the Chutney Glaze, fry the salmon in
butter or prepare any way you like. If you have a salmon rub or
fish spice, you can use it to season the salmon before cooking. I
put on rice right when I start to cook the salmon.
The glaze can be made in the same pan. Mix together 1 teaspoon
mango chutney, ¼ teaspoon orange zest (remove from orange with a
zester), the freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange, 2 tablespoons
passionfruit juice, 3 sliced Lychees, dash soy sauce, a splash of
Cabernet, pinch dried onions (or you could use shallots), 1/8
teaspoon tapioca ground in a mortar and pestle (thickens the
sauce), French sea salt, freshly ground Tellicherry peppercorns.
Pour the sauce into the pan all at once. Add a dollop of butter if
you want and then just cook until the sauce turns into a beautiful
glaze. Pour over your salmon and I think you will be impressed.
~The Rebecca Review
|
