After writing about blood oranges, I thought about the other deep crimson fruits and vegetables that I love and there is quite a few. I look forward to the tamarillo season when it begins in Autumn but there are still some available even now in Spring if you look hard, although you pay by each fruit, not by kilo!
Tamarillos are sometimes called ‘tree tomato’ and pretty easy to grow. They hang from soft woody branches and look very striking when the fruit is ripe. We used to grow them until the possums discovered them! They would jump onto the tree from above easily destroying the entire tree. Falling branches from the surrounding gum trees didn’t help either.
Tamarillos have a distinctive flavour. Yesterday I saw chef Mauro Colagreco use thin slices of the flesh in a tomato salad to add an interesting flavour to a tomato salad. I love tamarillos as a sauce. All you have to do is scoop out the flesh and puree it. Strain out the seeds and add sugar to taste. The sauce has an exquisite colour. I then pour it over fresh ricotta, yoghurt or even white chocolate mousse!
Another great colour is the flesh of red dragonfruit.
invisiblespice 