From Garden to Kitchen: Two ingredients, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, No added sugar, all-natural sorbet in minutes!
This week, my daughter pointed out that there was a Dragon Fruit on our shed roof. We thought that the cactus out the back might be Dragon Fruit but I didn’t expect it to be confirmed with two decent fruits within weeks of moving in!
Dragon Fruit (or Pitaya or Pitahaya or Strawberry Pear) is a cactus from South America in the Hylocereus genus and it’s becoming very popular in the tropical and subtropical areas of Australia. There are different varieties with varying tastes described as like kiwi fruit combined with pear.
To my taste buds, the white variety is bland which is why I was excited to discover that our plant is the sweeter “red” variety. It’s not truly sweet as it has a sour aftertaste, but it’s very pleasant.
And just look at that colour!!!
To use the fruit for dessert I made a very simple sorbet with Raspberries. The longest part of the process was freezing the fruit. The rest took literally minutes.
Getting a photo of the finished product proved the hardest task as my children were literally trying to eat it while I tried to get some images.
It was delicious! Sweet and sour all at once and blessedly cooling on a hot day! A perfect Tropical dessert.
How to tell if your Dragon Fruit is ripe
When a Dragon Fruit ripens, the “spikes” will start to wither. You can see in my photo above that they are just a little brown on the tips. When pressed the fruit should “give” a little. Simply twist off or use secateurs to cut it from the plant.
Dragon Fruit and Raspberry Sorbet Recipe
You will need:
- A freezer
- A food processor or blender that has ice-crushing capabilities
Ingredients:
- One and a half Dragon Fruit
- A punnet of raspberries
Method:
- Cut the Dragon Fruit in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
2. Cut flesh into cubes or rectangular prisms haha.
3. Put Dragon Fruit cubes and raspberries into the freezer for at least 8 hours.
4. Place frozen fruit into a food processor or blender and process until fruit is combined.
5. Simply scoop out and enjoy! Serve immediately so that you can enjoy the icy flakes dissolving on your tongue.
Next time I am going to try to be a little fancy and serve it in the Dragon Fruit shell!
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Jane Grows Garden Rooms 