Good morning and welcome to Fruity Fridays and the delicious Pineapple…
I hope you enjoy the recipes and chit-chat that I will be bringing to you on a Friday. Pineapple is a fruit that is available in one form or another all over the world.
It grows here quite freely and is available everywhere and as crisps, smoothies, in curries, ice cream the pineapple is a very versatile fruit and it always looks very pretty when the outside is kept and used to put your Pina colada in or your pineapple fried rice.
The pineapple is packed with vitamin C, minerals and antioxidants it is also used in smoothies and cocktails and there is nothing better than sitting on the beach with a lovely Pina colada watching the sunset…
I know you are all now probably thinking that it is alright for some while you are dealing with the cold and rain but we have rain to it is just interspersed with hot sunny spells…Soz…but it also makes a beautiful curry it pairs with duck really well and is one of my favourites.
Tip: It is also a great meat tenderizer.
Red Duck Curry ( Kaeng Ped Pett Yang)
I had the pleasure of eating a Duck curry for the first time on a little island just off Phuket, Thailand it is a fiery curry offset by pineapple and tomatoes. Some add lychee as well as pineapple but we found it a little sweet for us but experiment, everyone’s taste is different….I also add some vegetables, mange tout or sugar snap peas may be a few florets of brocolli..really whatever I have in the fridge.
Ingredients:
- 2 duck Breasts.
- 400 ml of coconut milk
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3/4 cup fresh pineapple cut into bite-sized pieces.
- 10 cherry tomatoes.
- 6-10 mange tout..or other vegetables of your choice.
- 100 gm Thai eggplant cut into quarters.
-
Tiny pea eggplants used in Thai Curries
- 100 gm pea eggplants.
- If you can’t get these any small eggplant will be ok I sometimes use small purple ones if I can’t get the green.
- 1-2 tbsp red curry paste.
- 6 kaffir lime leaves torn
- Bunch Thai basil washed and leaves picked…
- 2 tsp lime juice.
Lets’s Cook!
Firstly cook your duck breasts, we like ours medium-rare.
Put the duck skin side down in a cold pan, turn the heat to medium and cook the duck breasts for 6-8 minutes until the skin is golden and crispy, turn the breasts over and just sear the other side for 1 minute. Turn over so they are breast side up and put in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 7-9 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes before slicing the breasts thinly.
To make sauce put a very tiny drop of oil in the pan over medium heat add your curry paste and stir to cook for 1 min, add fish sauce. Gradually add coconut milk whilst still stirring.
Bring to a slow boil and add torn lime leaves and eggplants cook for 5/6 mins and add tomatoes and pineapple, cook for a further 10 minutes then add the mange tout and stir in some Thai basil leaves and lime juice.
Now taste and adjust curry paste if you want more heat. If any other seasonings need to be adjusted you can also do that now. Thai flavours are very pronounced and if you get it balanced ..very nice if not…I have had some disasters and I don’t mind admitting that…which is why I always say TASTE and Taste again.
The very first duck curry I made was ok…so we left out the lychee next time and it was much better…also, I know which curry paste to now use as they are all so different….Please don’t let this put you off making it as when you get it right it is a lovely thing. Thai curry pastes are now available around the world not only in Asian stores but many high street stores now stock them… Brands like Mae Ploy are very good…
N.B, I am thinking of selling authentic Thai brands if food and cooking pots on this blog what do you think? Would you buy them? (Of course when the post is back to normal) Covid-19 has affected all areas of our lives…
When you are ready to serve then add sliced duck to the sauce and just warm through and serve with some Thai basil over the top and a sliced red chilli if you like.
Serve with steamed rice.
Enjoy!
I also love pineapple in an upside-down pudding my mum used to make it… She just used to make a normal cake mix and put pineapple in the bottom of a heatproof dish and put the cake mixture on top. Bake it and then serve it with custard…It is one of those childhood memories… Mine …well I had to tweak it somewhat but I am sure you didn’t expect any different from me…Did you??
Pineapple and ginger upside-down cake.
Ingredients:
- 25 g (1 oz) sultanas
- 100 g (4 oz) castor sugar
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- 175 g (6 oz) self-raising flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon Powder
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 115 g (4 1/2 oz) butter
- 227 g (8 oz) tin pineapple rings, drained or fresh pineapple cut into rings.
- maraschino cherries( optional)
Let’s Cook!
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.
Grease and baseline a 20.5cm (8″) round /square cake tin. Heat the golden syrup and 1 tsp grated Ginger with 15 gm (½oz) butter until melted.
Meanwhile, arrange the pineapple in the base of the tin, sprinkle over the sultanas and pour over the syrup mixture.
If you are using cherries then just pop them in the middle of the pineapple…they look so pretty…
Whisk the remaining butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs. Mix the flour with the Cinnamon and remaining Ginger and fold into the cake mixture. Spread on top of the pineapple.
Bake for 45 minutes until firm to touch. Allow the cake to cool slightly before turning out.
Serve with custard and enjoy!
Well, I can’t go without just mentioning that I pickle almost everything and pineapple is no exception…It is actually very nice…pickled with jala[eno peppers they are perfect with cheese…
Pickled Pineapple.
Ingredients:
- 300 gm of fresh pineapple cut into smallish chunks
- A handful of shallots finely sliced
- 1 pickled jalapeno sliced
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1 1/2 cups of white vinegar
- The juice of 2 fresh limes
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- A handful of chopped coriander
- 3 sterilised jars with lids.
Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, limes and Jalapenos together and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat add the shallots and leave the mixture to cool down.
Spoon the pineapple and coriander into the prepared jars and cover with the vinegar mixture. Add the lids and leave to cool down before putting in the refrigerator.
Leave for 1-2 days before eating.
N.B Some recipes say use pickled jalapenos and some say to use fresh Jalapenos… I use either …
If you use pineapple juice the cut down on the sugar you use.
If you enjoy pickles what unusual pickles do you make????? Please let me know in the comments…I would love to know 🙂 x
I hope you have enjoyed my recipes for the lovely pineapple until next Friday when I will bring another lovely fruit…Take care and stay safe, have fun and laugh a lot..laughter is free and the best medicine x
Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a fabulous week and stay safe these are troubling times xx
Retired? No one told me! 