More than just desserts: unlock fruit’s potential on your menu
“Fruit is often the secret to creating a great dish,” says chef Adam Moore. “If you want to use less added sugar, if you’re looking to use multiple flavours in a balanced way, it’s the ideal solution whether fresh or canned. Take a dish that’s really spicy, like a Korean bulgogi – you can add apples or pears to bring a sweetness to counter the heat and also provide more depth to the dish.
“In fact you’ll find that Asian cuisines such as Korean food often uses this counterbalance of spiciness with apple and pear. That’s because sweetness cuts through fat and enhances umami, and lots of countries have traditionally used fruit in this way. The variation in choices is really down to what was available locally - Middle Eastern cuisine uses a lot of dried fruit whereas South African uses apricots or apples. And the same principle applies in food manufacturing, such as apple being used to enhance tomato sauce – again, it’s the sweetness that carries the umami all the way through your palate.
“If you make a Mexican chocolate mole, you can add dates and prunes and they’ll act as the perfect complement to those savoury notes. One of the greatest examples of this I’ve seen recently is Strawberry Butter Chicken, served at an Indian restaurant in Sydney – it sounds a bit weird but it works.”
“Strawberry is one of the most complex of fruits and probably the most universal in that you can mix it with so many different products.”
“Another great choice is using bananas or plantains for Peruvian style dishes – even banana chips with guacamole is an unbelievable taste sensation!”
Adam makes the point that fruit-based chutneys have long been a staple of Indian cuisine. “So this is nothing new, it’s a well-established approach to bringing balance into a dish – just like that way peaches and nectarines go well with barbecued meats, because the fruit sweetness cuts through the fattiness of the meat.”
Utilising the sweet/savoury combination
The hype around plant-based foods is also helping to drive more use of fruit on the menu, particularly in savoury applications, says chef Peter Wright. “Take jackfruit for example – when it cooks up it almost resembles a pulled meat, so we’re seeing it being used in Tex-Mex cuisine such as tacos. It’s got a neutral flavour, so it’s really just replicating the texture of a pulled pork or pulled beef, then you can add whatever flavour and seasoning you want.”
Peter also cites the widespread use of fruit on the breakfast menu – like poached eggs sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, or hummus flavoured with grilled peach.
“Grilled fruits are becoming very popular at breakfast, while stone fruit like peaches and nectarines are great for incorporating into salads.”
“Pear and blue cheese with walnuts is another terrific combo. I think we’re seeing more fruit going into salads and garnishes – fresh fruit in season is relatively cheap, so incorporating it into the menu is going to reduce your costs, whereas processed fruit in syrup is a great choice to add flavour and replace sugar.”
He adds that chutneys and pickles have come back in a big way in recent times – “adding a dollop of fruit chutney to a dish can really enhance it and help you put your own spin on it. Preserved and pickled fruits have been around forever but there’s been a real resurgence of late – they’re in vogue right now and you only have to look at Instagram to see how people are experimenting with ways of preserving and pickling and picking up a new skill.”
Take advantage of seasonal availability
Gary Johnson, National Executive Chef at ALH Group which operates more than 340 hotels across Australia, also recommends taking advantage of seasonal availability wherever possible. “I always say the best time to make a chutney is when your apples, tomatoes, peaches are in season – even though you might not serve it until winter. You might make a mango and lime chutney to go with a curried fish dish, which is a winter meal, but you’re using summer fruits to complement it.
“It’s all about making those marriages while retaining the fundamental taste components of the meal ... you need to look for those clever combos.”
“I love making a vegan pumpkin curry with roasted green apple which imparts a sweetness and sourness and seeing people go ‘wow’ when they eat it!
“You need to look for those clever combos that complement each other well. I recently did a barbecue pork belly with some peaches that I’d pickled, so I was able to drizzle this beautiful peach and ginger pickle over the pork belly and top with some shaved crackling. That gives you a nice spicy barbecue flavour and a sweet and sour component too.”
And when summer comes around, it’s the perfect time to pair fruit with seafood – Gary says passionfruit, pineapple and watermelon are all great choices. “You can’t beat a beautiful piece of grilled watermelon with a curry vinaigrette and a sandcrab ginger and lime salad, with maybe a few rocket leaves to finish it off. The curried spice, the sweetness of the watermelon and the acidity of the lime and ginger makes the crab itself just go off – it brings out all those flavours and it’s just amazing. Washed down with a crisp pinot gris or sauvignon blanc, your customers will be in heaven!”
One of Gary’s favourite fruits is pear – “they sear beautifully and once caramelized with a little salt and sugar they’re perfect with candied walnuts, feta cheese, salted prosciutto, goat’s cheese tartlets – all those kinds of choices work really well. So I think fruit can be very versatile – take for example Asian cuisine concepts such as green mango and green pawpaw which has a totally different texture from regular and can be grated into a salad or slaw.
“Grated avocado with coleslaw is another fantastic choice – not a ripe avocado, it needs to be a little bit green, but it’s just delicious with a little bit of crunch.
The ultimate spring/summer favourite
At The Ary Toukley on the NSW Central Coast, Operations Manager Alex Patterson and his team feature fruit predominantly on the spring/summer menus. “We’ve done a prawn and watermelon salad with fresh herbs and feta, which is a great combo. Another big hit has been pear and blue vein cheese risotto – you brown off your pears in slivers across the flattop, then serve on top of the risotto with candied walnuts. We originally put it on the menu as a vegetarian option but it took off across the board!”
Desserts include fruit tarts, strawberries and cream and smashed pavlova with fresh passionfruit, compressed pineapple and watermelon which Alex says is “where you really see those flavours jump”.
While he focuses on fresh fruit for the club menu, he says that for the functions market frozen mixed berries are the perfect choice to make up compotes and purees.
“The quality is consistent and it’s a great way to keep costs down – fresh berries can fluctuate in price due to availability and wet weather, so it’s wise to ensure you have those options and there’s a lot of good frozen product out there.”
