For a moment I feel I’ve been transported to south Florida. Instead, I’m standing in the produce department of my local supermarket on Broadway looking at a display of exotic tropical fruits previously seen in Chicago only in food magazine photographs.
But what to do with them? What to do with spiky horned melons, or carambola, passion fruit and kumquat? Are they just for display or can I eat them? Is a mango yellow or is that a papaya?
The answers to these and other questions about tropical fruits can fill a book, as Elizabeth Schneider proved with hers, “Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables,” and Norman Van Aken with his, “The Great Exotic Fruit Book.” Here are descriptions of several that are used in recipes from their books.
Carambola: Also known as star fruit because when cut crosswise, the slices resemble a star, this yellow fruit need not be peeled. Add slices or smaller pieces to fruit salads or stir-fry dishes. It also may be eaten out of hand.
Cherimoya: It has a pine-cone-shaped, shingled green exterior with a white, custard-textured flesh inside (and inedible black seeds). Its complex, sweet taste makes this a natural for desserts or blender fruit drinks and sauces.
Mango: The golden-orange flesh is sweet and perfumed, well suited to serving as melons are. When sliced or cubed, it can add appeal to salads, soups or salsas.
Papaya: Pear-shaped with skin color moving from green to gold as it matures, the papaya is welcome in salads and salsas as well as blender drinks. Or remove the seeds and serve with a wedge of lemon or lime.
Passion fruit: Don’t worry about the bruised purple or red, wrinkled skin. It’s what’s inside that counts: edible seeds and sweet-sour flesh with a complex, floral aroma. Use in sauces or puree for the juice, which can be drunk or used to flavor custard or ice cream.
Pepino (melon pear): Lemon yellow with purple stripes, it looks like a melon but tastes like a sugared cucumber. Remove and discard the seeds and serve for dessert with a wedge of lime, cut it up to add to a fruit salad or squeeze the pulp for juice.
CHERIMOYA-AVOCADO SALAD
Four servings
For the marinade:
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, seeded and minced *
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dark roasted sesame oil
Freshly toasted and cracked black pepper to taste
4 boneless chicken breasts, about 8 ounces each, skin on
* To lower the spice heat level, substitute a jalapeno pepper
For the dressing:
1/2 cup strained, fresh passion fruit juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
1 ripe cherimoya, peeled, seeded and diced
1 ripe Hass avocado (or 1/2 Florida), peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 cup unsalted cashew nuts, roasted until crisp, optional
1. To make the marinade, combine the light soy, five-spice powder, garlic, chile, honey, sesame oil and cracked pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add the chicken breasts, cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 8 hours, turning the chicken at least once.
2. To make the dressing, combine the passion fruit juice, oil, honey, light soy, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Refrigerate.
3. Place the avocado and cherimoya in a mixing bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the dressing. Refrigerate.
4. Heat a grill or broiler. When hot, cook the chicken breasts, turning as needed, until cooked through. Remove the skin, if desired, and keep warm.
5. Mound the salad at the top of four serving plates. Spoon dressing onto each plate to use as a dipping sauce for the chicken. Cut the chicken into thin slices and arrange on the plate next to the salad. Garnish with optional cashews.
–From “The Great Exotic Fruit Book”
PEPINO, MANGO AND ASIAN PEAR SLAW
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
For the dressing:
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced cilantro leaves
1/2 tablespoon hot chile sauce
2 tablespoons Oriental fish sauce
For the slaw:
1 pepino, peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch julienne strips
1 Asian pear, peeled, cored and cut into 2-inch julienne strips
1/2 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 2-inch julienne strips
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch julienne strips
1. Place the sugar, lime juice and 1/4 cup water in a mixing bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Mix in the garlic, cilantro, chile sauce and fish sauce and set aside.
2. Mix the pepino, Asian pear, mango and carrot strips in a separate bowl. Add the liquid mixture, combine and let stand in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour so the flavors can marry. Drain off the excess liquid and serve with grilled chicken or fish or Asian spring rolls.
— From “The Great Exotic Fruit Book”
SAUTEED SHRIMP AND CARAMBOLA
Two servings
2/3 pound shrimp, preferably small
3 small carambolas, about 2 ounces each
2 tablespoons butter
Salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
Pinch sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1. Shell and devein shrimp. If medium or large, cut in half lengthwise. Trim tips from the carambolas, then cut them into 1/8-inch slices.
2. In a saute pan, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. When it stops bubbling, add the shrimp and carambola. Stir until the shrimp turn pink, about 2 minutes, then season with salt, peppers and sugar. Add lime juice, stir briefly, then, off the heat, stir in remaining butter. Serve at once.
— Adapted from “Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables,”
