Tag Archives: Fruit

Salad therapy – roasted corn and coconut

A simple salad to pull together as an accompaniment  or a summer barbecue staple.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 2 ears of corn
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 green chilli chopped
  • 1 small green pepper chopped
  • 3 tbsp grated coconut
  • Handful fresh coriander chopped
  • Juice of half a lime
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4 as a side dish

How do I make it?

Roast the corn cobs over an open flame and then shuck them once cooled.     Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

Salad therapy – lambs lettuce with pear and Sharon fruit

We can’t believe that neither of us had tried Sharon fruit (persimmon) till earlier this year but having done so it is now a regular feature in our fruit bowl.  Tonight we had a simple salad combining thinly sliced Sharon fruit and pear (used a mandolin slicer) topped with lambs lettuce dressed in olive oil, balsamic white vinegar, salt and pepper and finished with shavings of flavoured Gloucester cheese (onions and chives).  Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

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Salad therapy – Anna’s Surprise

My niece Nikhita was in town for a couple of days and I was keen to get her to like this salad as she is not too fond of fruits.  The first time I made this salad I threw in the remaining fruit in my fruit bowl and was surprised at how well it went with the dressing.   A few tweaks later I’ve rechristened it Anna’s Surprise to dedicate it to my better half (surprised her and others with the combination).   Having served this to Nikhi I think I have succeeded in getting her to eat fruit beyond bananas as she appreciated the salad.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 big bag of mixed salad leaves
  • 1 red apple
  • 1 pear  (the firmer the better – gives a bit of a bite to the salad)
  • 1 firm ripe mango
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1/2 large cucumber de-seeded and cubed
  • 1 large mozzarella ball cubed
  • 5 artichoke hearts quartered (used the tinned variety)
  • 6-8 sun dried tomatoes in oil chopped
  • Handful of green and black olives
  • Handful of pomegranate seeds (optional)
  • 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make?

Chop all the fruit, veg and cheese into bite size pieces.   Wash and drain the salad leaves and place in a large bowl.   Add the fruit, vegetables, cheese and olives and season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad and toss gently.  Transfer into dishes and enjoy.

Passion fruit with marscapone cheese

WARNING – not for the health/diet conscious or faint hearted – this dessert is simple and can become addictive.

My culinary forte has been mainly in the savoury domain and I have dabbled a little in the dessert making arena.  Off late between the two of us, Anna has taken a greater interest in making desserts – she is into baking and has pulled out some tasty treats with some stunning gluten free recipes.   One dessert I am fond of which came about through a stroke of luck and is simple to make is a rich passion fruit with marscapone cheese and honey concotion served on a bed of crushed meringue.  Think of it as an Eton mess with passion fruit – not exactly a visual treat but irresistibly tasty.

Growing up in Zambia we had a passion fruit vine in our back garden and back then I thought of it as a sour fruit with little value.   Boy was I wrong – if I knew then what I know now I would have experimented a bit more with this fruit and desserts in general.

Passion fruit and marscapone cheese

What do I need to make it?

  • 4 passion fruit – cut and scooped out
  • 250 gm marscapone cheese
  • 2 -3 tbsp Greek honey
  • 4 meringue nests

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make it?

Whisk the marscapone cheese in a bowl.  It takes a bit of effort as the mixture can seem a bit stiff and will loosen up when the other ingredients are added.   Add the passion fruit and honey and whisk further till you get a nice smooth mixture.   Check the mixture for sweetness and add some more honey if needed.  Crumble a meringue nest in each bowl and add a dollop of the mixture and enjoy.