Get the scoop on fab feijoas
Everywhere I turn at the moment, I see feijoas. On our daily walks, they are dripping from neighbourhood trees, there are boxes of free fruit on the footpath and our own trees are now dropping their fruit – a little late as we live in a valley.
Feijoa & oat mini cakes
With flour stocks running low, I am doing a fair amount of flour-free baking. In this recipe, I use crumble ingredients as my inspiration and blend rolled oats and coconut into a fine meal (or use ground almonds). The result is little cakes, with lots of flavour and texture. Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Makes six mini cakes ■ About 20g soft butter
■ 2 tablespoons rolled oats (smaller porridge oats work best)
■ 3 tablespoons brown sugar
■ 8 large feijoas, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes ■ Squeeze of lemon juice ■ 3⁄4 cup rolled oats or ground almonds ■ 1⁄2 cup desiccated coconut
■ 2 eggs
■ 2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or sugar
■ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
■ 1 teaspoon baking powder Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
First, prepare a regular-sized muffin tray. Generously grease six muffin holes with the soft butter. Scatter a teaspoon each of the brown sugar and oats into the base and up the sides.
Toss the feijoa cubes in the remaining sugar and squeeze of lemon.
Place the oats and coconut into a food processor and blend into a fine meal. Tip into a bowl, add the eggs, sweetener, ginger and baking powder and mix well to combine. Fold through the feijoa pieces.
Evenly spoon the batter into the six muffin holes. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden and the top springs back when gently pressed. Cool in the tin for five minutes, then run a sharp knife around the sides and invert the cakes on to a cooling rack.
Serve warm with yoghurt.
Spicy feijoa & pear chutney
I love making chutney in autumn when we have excess fruit on hand.
I have experimented with leaving the skin on the feijoas to make this recipe and the scooped flesh-only preserve is always the most favoured – for look and taste. Pear (or apple) is added to help thicken the sauce, without loads of added sugar. Feel free to add more sugar or vinegar, towards the end of cooking, to find the perfect balance of sweet and sour to your liking. Preparation time: 40 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour
Makes approximately 4 x 300g jars
■ 800g scooped feijoa flesh
■ 600g pears or apples; peeled, cored and roughly chopped into 1cm cubes
■ 1⁄3 cup sugar
■ 1 tablespoon olive oil
■ 1 medium onion, finely chopped
■ 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
■ 3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
■ 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
■ 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
■ 1 red chilli (or 1⁄2 teaspoon chilli flakes)
■ 1 teaspoon sea salt ■ 1⁄2 cup apple cider or white wine vinegar
Prepare the fruit, tossing in the sugar as you go, to prevent browning.
Heat a large heavy-based pan over a moderate heat. Add the oil and onion and saute´ for five minutes until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, mustard seeds and curry powder and cook for two minutes, until fragrant.
Add the fruit and the remaining ingredients to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for around 1 hour, until thickened. Stir frequently, especially at the end of cooking, to prevent catching.
Sterilise 4 x 300g jars by cleaning thoroughly, then place into a 120C oven for 10 minutes. Boil the lids for five minutes.
Carefully ladle the hot chutney into the hot jars and firmly screw on the lids. Leave to cool on a wooden board, then check jars are sealed correctly (lids will concave into the jar). Store jars in a cool, dark place for six months. Once opened, keep refrigerated and consume within one month.