How to Expand Your Horizons with Exotic Dragon Fruit
All fruit is beautiful, but some fruits are just more gorgeous than others. Dragon fruit is one of those beauties that is prized more for its color than it’s flavor, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing! It’s outrageously hot pink, and the inside flesh (which comes in either stark white or magenta) is dotted with beautiful little black seed specks.
Dragon fruit indicates a kind of tropical luxury in any dish featuring it, and pairs incredibly well with other warm-weather fruits like pineapple, melons, stone fruit, and berries. Dragon fruit is stunning to look at, and mildly sweet. It is often compared to kiwi because of the seeds and white flesh, but I think it tastes more like a subtle melon.
Try using Dragon Fruit in a semifreddo for dessert. It can also be diced an incorporated into a winter salsa, perfect for adorning seared scallops. Dragon fruit can also be cooked down with cranberries and served as a compote on the side of grilled or roasted meat. Basically, anywhere you want a pop of dramatically speckled sweet fruit, Dragon fruit is your friend!
About the Chef
Stephanie Goldfarb is a Chicago-based chef and national food television personality specializing in seasonal, globally-inspired cuisine. Recognized as the winner of Food Network’s America’s Best Cook competition, and a celebrity chef on Kitchen Inferno and NBC’s Food Fighters, Goldfarb delivers unique and relatable culinary experiences to discriminating and casual diners alike. As the owner of the successful Seven Species Supper Club & Catering, she enjoys the challenge of building brand new menus each month that inspire both repeat clients and newcomers, and seeks opportunities to utilize new ingredients, techniques, and approaches in accessible ways.