Now that the weather has turned a bit cooler, we have been enjoying Manoa and butter lettuce from the garden. During the summer it is impossible to grow lettuce in Kihei, it’s just too hot. We also planted radishes that turned out to be a tasty addition to our salads.
Our new lilikoi (the most fragrant of tropical fruits) are doing well. Their vigorous vines quickly claimed the fence as their home with their tendrils grabbing on to anything within reach. We even caught one reaching up to the sky and fastening itself to a mango branch. Our first season of growing lilikoi yielded a small, healthy, crop of fruit that we quickly used to make the best jelly ever. Lilikoi vinaigrette came to mind when I was picking those tender lettuce leaves from the garden. So with the few fruits left on the vines, the juice was frozen in small containers and will be enjoyed throughout the next few months.
Lilikoi makes everything better.
Press the pulp to extract the precious juice.
Manoa and butter lettuce with cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, avocado and feta.
Lilikoi Vinaigrette
Makes about 3/4 cup
1/2 cup fresh lilikoi juice
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon finely minced shallot
kosher salt and pepper
Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a jar, shake well.
Kiyo, You truly do take advantage of all of the beautiful fruits available to you. Your photos are so beautiful and recipes elegant yet original. This blog post makes me think that I need lilikoi in my life. 🙂 Best, Shanna
Shanna, a lilikoi plant in your garden would be perfect! The flowers are gorgeous and the fruit, so fragrant.
Hi Kiyo!
What does the lilykoi fruit/juice taste like? It looks so pretty, almost like something from my motherland (SE Asia). I wonder if we can get lilykoi seeds to plant? The blog looks delicious, and I love your photos. Everything is so nice and bright with lovely colors. Does Hawaii ever get grey and dull ever?? Looking forward to more of your posts! xox*
Hi Vera! Lilikoi (passion fruit) has a sweet-tart flavor and is very fragrant. Once you cut open the fruit has an amazing fragrance. It’s unique isn’t it? With so many seeds it takes a little time to extract the precious juice but you’ll be rewarded in the end. There are some grey and gloomy days in Hawaii though not many, especially where I live on Maui. Mahalo!