Gardeners share their feijoa recipes
NZGARDENER
We have been gathering your best recipes for feijoas after NZ Gardener editor Jo McCarroll mentioned she was struggling to offload her bumper crop.
“Now is peak season so everywhere I go I am loaded down with carry bags of fruit just in case I run into anyone I can gift it to (or possibly foist it on),” she said.
“Anyone who comes to my house for any reason leaves with a bag (or ideally two) of fruit, even if I have to resort to sneaking it into their car. There’s a box of free fruit at the front gate for my neighbours to help themselves from. “But every day there’s more fruit under the tree.”
She asked for your feijoa recipe suggestions, and you guys responded with glee. So here we have it, a veritable banquet.
STEAK SAUCE
Waiuku gardener Jennifer Cox has a recipe for feijoa steak sauce. You need:
■ 1.6kg feijoas chopped (skins and all)
■ 1.3kg sugar
■ 6 tsp salt
■ 1 tsp each cayenne pepper and ground ginger
■ 8 tsp ground cloves (a 40g packet)
■ 1.5 litres malt vinegar.
Throw ingredients in a pot and simmer for two hours. Leave to cool, then put the mixture through a food processor, and then simmer again for another two hours. Pour into hot sterilised bottles and seal.
INDIAN SPICED CHUTNEY
This Indian spiced feijoa chutney recipe from Marilyn Cornwall, of Ashburton. makes 2-3 jars of chutney. You need
■ 2kg ripe feijoas
■ ¼ cup neutral cooking oil
■ 1 tbsp each of turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, ginger powder and chilli powder
■ 2 tbsp of mustard seeds
■ 500ml white vinegar
■ 400g brown sugar
Scoop half the feijoas and chop the rest, skins and all. In a medium saucepan, fry spices in cooking oil, stirring all the time to prevent burning. Add scooped and chopped feijoas, and remaining ingredients, bring to boil then simmer for an hour uncovered until reduced. Spoon into hot sterilised jars and seal. Cornwall suggests leaving it for a minimum of three months to mature: “It gets better as it ages.”
FEIJOA ICE CREAM
Sue Hingston, of Ohaeawai in the Bay of Islands, saved a recipe from NZ Gardener 20-odd years ago for what was called Kathy’s feijoa ice cream, and she has been making it ever since. You need:
■ 250g feijoas (washed, trimmed and preferably unpeeled for better flavour)
■ 1 cup sugar
■ 1 tbsp lemon juice
■ 1 egg white
■ 250ml cream whipped.
Blitz fruit, sugar, juice and egg white in a food processor for 4 minutes (it should resemble firm uncooked meringue with specks of fruit). Fold into cream and freeze in a 2-litre container.
FEIJOA LOAF
For Wellington gardener Rob Thornton’s feijoa loaf, you need:
■ 1 cup peeled and sliced feijoas
■ 1 cup boiling water
■ 1 cup sugar
■ 2 cups flour
■ 1 tsp each baking powder, baking soda
■ 50g butter
■ 1 egg beaten.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Place feijoas, sugar, butter and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil, cook gently for 5min then cool. Carefully stir in the dry ingredients and egg until dry ingredients are just moist. Bake in a lined loaf pan for 50min until firm and a skewer comes out clean.