Not just for dessert: full fruit-based menu

Have you tried cherries in a gazpacho? Or grilled watermelon? Fruits cooked, in salads or with spices take care of you and cause a sensation.

Eating a custard apple or a simple apple after dinner, as it is, without any preparation, is a healthy way to complete a good meal, and no one doubts that fruit is an ideal ingredient to prepare delicious desserts. But there are other ways to put these foods on our table.

It’s true that we can lose some of their valuable nutrients when we cook them. However, according to the view of Eastern medicine, we know that fruit is an ingredient of a yin energetic nature, and that when we cook it, we can take it to a more yang condition. When that happens, the body needs less energy to digest it.

When it comes to using fruit in the kitchen, there are many possibilities. We can, for example, add some oranges to a pumpkin cream or include some figs in a fresh spinach salad.

It doesn’t matter the preparation, because they can be included in a starter, in an appetizing sweet and sour sauce or as a luxury ingredient in a salad.

Here is a complete menu based on recipes with fruit. Below you’ll find some more tips on how to cook with fruits and include them in your recipes.

GRILLED WATERMELON SKEWER WITH VEGAN CHEESE

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 300 g watermelon
• 150 g vegan almond cheese
• a few arugula leaves (or mixed greens)
• 20 g toasted sesame seeds
• sea salt (optional)
• extra virgin olive oil

For the sauce:

• a few fresh basils leaves
• 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 15 ml balsamic vinegar

Preparation (25 minutes):

1. To prepare the sauce, blend all the ingredients in an electric mixer.
2. Cut a few round slices of watermelon a finger thick and brush both sides with a little oil.
3. Heat the grill and, when it is very hot, place the watermelon slices for a few minutes on each side (you can add a pinch of salt if you feel like it, you will see how it enhances its flavor a lot).
4. When you have it roasted, place a slice of watermelon in the background, another slice of vegan almond cheese, some arugula leaves (or mixture of green leaves) and another of watermelon. Top it with some sesame seeds and finally drizzle it with the sauce.

CHERRY GAZPACHO

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 500 g pear tomatoes
• 250 g cherries
• 50 g red peppers
• 50 g onions
• 20 ml apple cider vinegar
• 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 200 ml mineral water
• a clove of garlic
• pepper with 5 berries, freshly ground
• sea salt

Preparation (15 minutes):

1. Wash the cherries, pit them and peel the garlic clove.
2. Chop the tomato, peppers and peeled onion.
3. Put the tomato in the blender first and blend it until it is very liquid.
4. Add the cherries, peppers, onion, garlic, water, oil, vinegar and blend again.
5. Finally, dip it in a chino, season with salt and pepper to taste and put it in the fridge to serve it cold.

A trick for pitting cherries is to insert a drinking straw through the base of the cherry, give it a sharp blow and pierce it with the straw until it comes out, with the pit, on the opposite side.

SPINACH AND ORANGE SALAD WITH WALNUTS

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 250 g baby spinach
• 600 g blood oranges
• 150 g spring onion
• 70 g chopped walnuts

For the sauce:

• 45 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 30 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• 15 ml lemon juice
• 10 g agave syrup
• sea salt
• white pepper

Preparation (15 minutes):

1. Wash the spinach, remove the tail of the spinach and dry it well with kitchen paper (if there are some very large leaves, chop them a little).
2. Peel the oranges and, with the help of a sharp knife, remove the white part between the skin and the flesh.
3. Cut the oranges into wedges and the onion into rings.
4. To prepare the dressing, put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them with a small whisk, or if you prefer, use an electric whisk.
5. Arrange the spinach leaves on the bottom of the plate, place the segments decoratively and add the onion and walnuts.
6. Finally, just as it is time to serve it, season the salad with the sauce you have prepared.

SEITAN AND APPLE CURRY STEW

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 350 g seitan
• 350 g Golden apples
• 150 g parsnip
• 200 g red onion
• 250 g carrots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 150 g green pepper
• 15 g curry powder
• extra virgin olive oil
• 350 ml coconut milk
• chopped fresh cilantro
• sea salt

Preparation (45 minutes):

1. Heat a splash of oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole dish.
2. Chop the onion and pour it into the pot when the oil is very hot. Sauté it for a few minutes and, when it is translucent, add the sliced garlic.
3. You give it a few turns and a minute later you add the curry powder.
4. While it’s simmering so that the curry starts to give off its aroma, take the opportunity to cut the vegetables, seitan and apples into cubes.
5. After 10 minutes of adding the spices, add the carrot, pepper and apple to the casserole dish and let them soften for a while.
6. Add the seitan, a little broth or water and let it cook, covered, for 10 more minutes.
7. Pour in the coconut milk and simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Finally, add the finely chopped coriander and serve the dish hot, accompanied by aromatic rice or bulgur.

STEAMED PLANTAINS WITH MANGO SALSA

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 4 large bananas
• 100 ml soy milk
• 200 ml sunflower oil
• 70 g mango jam
• 8 g chia seeds

Preparation (15 minutes):

1. Cut off the ends of the bananas and place the rest, unpeeled, in a basket to steam them. Let them cook for about 8 minutes.
2. Pour the soy milk and oil into the bowl of a hand blender and let it sit while the fruit cooks.
3. Remove the bananas from the heat and, using tongs and a knife, carefully peel them.
4. Insert the blender arm to the bottom of the glass and start whisking, holding it at the bottom until it starts to thicken. At this point, slowly raise the arm of the mixer until the sauce has completely emulsified. Add the mango jam and stir until the mixture is homogeneous.
5. Place the bananas on the plates and drizzle them with this sauce, sprinkling a few chia seeds on top.

As an alternative to jam, you can use fresh mango and whole sugar.

MANY REASONS TO INCLUDE FRUIT IN YOUR RECIPES

Fruits have a diversity of colors, textures, and flavors that surpasses that of any other food, and they’re packed with nutrients.

NOURISH YOU WITH ABUNDANT MINERALS AND VITAMINS

They are a good source of water-soluble vitamins (B and C), although some – such as tangerines, blackberries or peaches – also contain provitamin A, which is fat-soluble

They provide potassium, magnesium and even calcium, like figs and raspberries, and are allies against premature aging thanks to their richness in antioxidants such as carotenes.

THEY TAKE CARE OF YOUR DIGESTIVE HEALTH AND HELP YOU PURIFY

As they contain a lot of water, they easily hydrate our body, facilitate the purifying functions of the kidney and, except for some such as avocado, they are very light.

They are usually very digestible and their richness in soluble fibers helps reduce cholesterol, prevents constipation and makes them satiating.

HOW TO COOK WITH FRUIT

We have seen that fruit is a healthy way to complete any menu, as it is taken as a dessert, but that we can prepare it in many other ways, including cooking it and thus facilitating its digestion. Let’s now look at some uses of fruit and tricks for using it in the kitchen.

TO GIVE A COUNTERPOINT OF FLAVOR

You have to lose your fear of using them in a main dish, because the sweetness of the fruits can enhance certain salty flavors or attenuate the spiciness, especially if we use citrus fruits.

They also balance the bitterness that artichokes, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower… Or to correct the acidity, like when we put apple in a tomato sauce.

AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR

Due to their freshness, they are ideal for summer, but nothing prevents you from using a delicious pear in a steaming winter dish.

In addition, we can take advantage of the greenest fruit to cook it.

A COOKING METHOD FOR EACH FRUIT

Almost all bone-in foods can be cooked like vegetables, and others, such as pineapple, bananas, or watermelon, get along better with the grill.

But of all the usual cooking methods, the oven is one of the best for fruits because it enhances their sweetness and gives them a very rich texture, although it is advisable to wrap them in parchment paper so that they do not dry out excessively.

SPICES TO ENHANCE ITS FLAVOUR

Almost all fruits go well with exotic spices (ginger, cinnamon, vanilla…). One blend that works is the combination of allspice, cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, and mint.

The proportion will depend on whether we want the recipe sharp or sweet.