Passionfruit is a distinct and flavoursome summer fruit, and one that I really like a lot—yes, I do like a lot of fruit!

I grew up in North Queensland and as a kid, I had bananas, mangos, paw paw, and of course passionfruits growing in my garden, plus loads more. It was a garden filled with everything you needed. I loved the fact that you could just go outside and pick something yummy to eat. It took me a while to adjust that in the city people don’t have the same as I did as a kid. I was spoilt for choice and it did allow me to try more food. I wonder if we had more growing in my garden, would it mean that my kids would eat more food?

Are you the type of person that wonders what else you can do with an ingredient? If so, you are not alone, I do this too.  I test things out and give things a go to see if they will work. And my latest project has been seeing what more I can do with passionfruit.

I usually add passionfruit to my breakfast, fruit salad and icing for cakes. However, with the abundance of passionfruit this season I was thinking, “What else could I make with passionfruit that isn’t cake or slices?”

A simple search on the internet for passionfruit recipes produces a myriad of layered cakes and slices, however, I wanted to do something totally different, or at the very least something that not everyone would do.

A little bit more about passionfruit

Passionfruit is in season in Australia from Summer to Winter. I had no idea that they are available during winter.  Due to our temperate climate in Australia and the fact that most of the passionfruit vines are in a tropical climate passionfruit is available nearly all year round. 

There are a few different varieties: Misty Gems, Sweethearts and Panamas. 

Passionfruit not only tastes and looks amazing it is also good for you too. This yummy fruit has Vitamin A, Vitamin C, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and folate.

Where do I get my fresh produce?

I shop at Todarello’s at Katoomba, they have the freshest fruit and vegetables and fabulous service to boot.

Todarello’s has stunning colourful displays and they have so much on offer, not only do they stock all fresh produce, but Todarello’s also have pasta, sauces, snacks, meat, bread and other pantry staples.

If you are also a passionfruit lover, you will love my recipes, you can get more passionfruit into your diet, and of course, have more passion!  

I’ve designed the recipes as a progression for a complete dinner – main meal, salad and dessert.

You can download the free eBook with all three passionfruit recipes here. Once your email has been confirmed your download will happen automatically.

Mango and Passionfruit Stir-Fry Sauce

Stir-fry dinners are simple and quick to make and are also something that can be a great addition to your dinner party. Adding passionfruit to your sauce brings the tangy passionfruit flavour and a bit of summer into your day. I found this recipe from gourmandelle.com/ and made it my own.

Ingredients

• 80ml (⅓ cup) passion fruit juice (Maybe add a cup of passionfruit to make it more passionfruity – that should be a word, don’t you think?)
• 1 large mango, peeled and cored
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey

Method

Place all your ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Strain the sauce, cover, and set aside. You can use the sauce immediately or store it in the fridge for later.

I used the sauce as a marinade for my chicken stir-fry, the sauce can be used as a dipping sauce too.

What did I use in the stir-fry?

• Chicken
• Broccolini
• Mushrooms
• Spanish onion
• Yellow tomatoes
• And the main ingredient, my very own Mango and Passionfruit Stir-Fry Sauce (the sauce was tasty, however next time I will add more passionfruit to make it more tangier).

Passionfruit Salad Dressing

I have never seen a passionfruit salad dressing and wondered why. The passionfruit pulp and tangy taste are perfect for a salad, I looked around and found a recipe and gave it a go.  The recipe was inspired by https://curryandvanilla.com/

I made it different from the Curry and Vanilla version by adding more passionfruit pulp with the seeds for texture.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups passionfruit puree
• 2 tbsp honey/maple syrup
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• Crushed black pepper

Method

Blitz all ingredients in a blender, and strain the mixture to remove seeds and other lumps. I added extra passionfruit pulp (2 extra passionfruit) to the mixture as I wanted the extra passionfruit taste and the crunch of the seeds. You can remove the seeds if you wish and just have the juice and pulp. Once complete add to a container and refrigerate. You can serve it right away or store it for a few weeks in the fridge.

The dressing looked more like ranch dressing but not as thick. It gave a great tang and lift to the salad and was yummy and moreish. 

What did I add to the salad?

• Red oak lettuce
• Green oak lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Spanish onions
• Capsicum
• Yellow tomatoes – Sun Delight tomatoes
• Broccolini
• And of course, my very own passionfruit salad dressing

On the stir-fry and salad, I used Mount Victoria Microgreens. The microgreens are grown in the Blue Mountains and are fresh and so tasty. If you want to add some extra taste and be healthier Mount Victoria Microgreens is the way to go. My favourites are the purple radish and the broccoli.

Passionfruit Flummery

My husband is mad about flummery and makes the raspberry flummery based on the Aeroplane Jelly Recipe. I thought why not make a passionfruit flummery instead. 

Flummery is a dessert that isn’t a popular menu item, you don’t see flummery anywhere. It has been said that the flummery goes back to the 1500’s in Scotland and the recipes that I remember say they are from the 1950’s or earlier. 

As I was new to flummery from a cooking perspective (I have eaten a few before), I thought it would be fun to give it a go and used the Aeroplane Jelly recipe as well. 

Ingredients

• 1 x 85 g Mango Passionfruit/Mango/Orange Aeroplane Jelly
• 1 cup (250 mL) boiling water
• 1 x 375 mL evaporated milk, chilled

Note: I bought two packs of Mango Passionfruit Lite Aeroplane Jelly, however, each pack only has about 20g, so I used all 4 packs for my flummery. Next time I will use an orange or mango aeroplane jelly pack that has the exact 85g.

Method

• Mix Aeroplane Jelly crystals and boiling water in a medium bowl. Stir until dissolved. Cover and refrigerate until the consistency of a thick syrup (Approximately 1-2 hours).
• Make sure that you keep an eye on the jelly as you don’t want to solid before you mix it with the evaporated milk.
• Using an electric mixer, beat evaporated milk with slightly set jelly on high speed for approximately 5 minutes or until doubled in volume. Should be thick and glossy.
• Spoon into serving bowls, cover and refrigerate for a further 2 hours or until set firm. Serve with yoghurt, ice cream and fresh passionfruit.

The glasses that I used were purchased from the local op shop. I just loved the blue stems with the square stand. I managed to acquire three Bombay Sapphire Gin glasses that were just perfect for a dessert.

POST FEAST REVIEW

Mango and Passionfruit Stir Fry Sauce
This was a simple recipe to make and tasted nice with the chicken and vegetables. I did think that the mango was a bit overpowering and to balance this out I would add more passionfruit next time. Even though I thought it needed more passionfruit it was delicious and both bowls were finished in record time.

Passionfruit Salad Dressing 
Another simple recipe that was very tasty and lifted a simple salad to new heights. As mentioned in the recipe I added extra passionfruit afterwards as it needed that extra flavour. It was a huge hit with my dinner guests, and I think that having some in the fridge always is a must!

Passionfruit Flummery
I had never made flummery before and was surprised at the reaction to the near jelly and evaporated milk. It doubles in size in record time. It tasted amazing with the fresh passionfruit over the fluffy dessert.

WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN?

Yes, I would make all three recipes again in a heartbeat. Although next time I would make a few little tweaks:

• Mango and Passionfruit Stir-Fry Sauce 
  I would add more passionfruit and see if I could make it a little thicker
• Passionfruit Salad Dressing
  I added more passionfruit to the end mixture and believe that it could be tangier but that could be my preference. The version I created was very tasty and was a huge hit.
• Passionfruit Flummery
  This an amazing light and delicious dessert. The one change I would make is to have the flummery in smaller cups to serve. 

I hope you enjoy these passionfruit recipes.

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Originally published March 5, 2022