Although tamarillo resembles a tomato especially when you slice it in half, it tastes nothing like a tomato. It is very tart and its scent and texture somewhat reminds me of a cross of a passion and kiwi fruit.
I came across this unusual fruit a lot in supermarkets. If you are on the look out for them, they usually are being situated near the exotic fruits section. Obviously, I hang around the exotic fruit section a lot. I miss seeing rambutans, custard apples, star fruits, mangosteens…basically the fruits I grow up with in Malaysia. Every now and then, I notice some other fruits too. This time I’ve discovered tamarillo.
(Click here if you want to know more about this gorgeous fruit – I find wikipedia can be very scientific with its explanation sometimes ha!)
Pan-Fried Salmon with Tamarillo Salsa
(For 3-4 people with you choice of sides i.e. salad, sweet corns, steamed vegetables)
For the salsa
(makes about two cups; should be enough for 4 portions of salmon i.e. 600g/21 ounces)
- 2 Tamarillos (aka tree tomato)
- Boiling water to blanch the tamarillos
- 25g/ 0.88 ounces of red onion (about half of a medium sized red onion), finely diced
- A small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1/2 green chilli, finely chopped
- Maple syrup to taste (about 1 to 2 tsps)
- Olive oil (about 3 to 4 tbsps)
Pan-fried salmon
- 4 portions of salmon – about 600g/21 ounces in total
- salt to taste
- freshly grind black pepper
- Olive oil
(1) Gently slice a cross at the end of each tamarillo. Then blanch them in hot boiling water for no more than a minute, or until you can see the criss cross mark has turned into a big slit, whichever come sooner. Drain the hot water and rinse them under cold running water until they are cool enough to handle. Peel and discard the skin. Slice the tamarillos in half, then quarters and even smaller segments and dice into smaller pieces. Transfer them to a bowl. (2) Finely dice onion and chop coriander. Add them into the bowl with the tamarillos. (3) Stir in maple syrup and olive oil. Set aside. (4) Season salmon portions with salt and pepper and coat them lightly with some olive oil. Place them on a hot pan (in batches depending on the size of the pan you are using) and cook them to your likings. (5) To serve, place the pan-fried salmon onto a plate and top with the tamarillo salsa. Serve immediately.
