In case you may have noticed on my social channels, I’ve started a slightly new obsession with kiwis. You can totally blame Zespri, a New Zealand-based brand of kiwifruit-growers who recently hosted an event in NYC where they not only fed us delicious bites that contain the ingredient, but they also had dietition Rebecca Scritchfield on hand who taught us all the health benefits that go along with them.
And you can ask my friends, I’m passing that info to everyone — for example, two medium-sized Zespri Kiwifruit have fewer than 100 calories, MORE vitamin C than an orange, and MORE potassium than a banana.
And besides being low in fat and free of cholesterol, they are fiber powerhouses (helping you digest your food through an enzyme called actinidin). We also got to sample their newest breed, the SunGold Kiwifruit, which is a cross between green and gold kiwis, and a little sweeter in taste than the green kiwis (Read: Where to find SunGold kiwis). It also happens to have TWICE the amount of vitamin C as the green kiwi.
I’ve been stocking up every time I go to the grocery store now and trying to include it in at least one meal a day since right now they’re in-season (their season goes from June to October).
Scritchfield gave us so many ideas of easy recipes and snacks to make with kiwis — smoothies with bananas and kale, a chicken marinade (puree kiwi, add lime juice, red onion, cilantro and oil, and marinate chicken…make a similar salsa to top chicken with), or just easy kiwi and greek yogurt to take to work. There were so many tasty options to make at home so I wanted to share some of my faves in case you wanted to try it yourself (I hope to try a couple and share on the blog soon too!).
Kiwifruit Mojito
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Start to Finish: 5 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 Zespri® Organic Green Kiwifruit, peeled
3 mint sprigs
1 tablespoons sugar
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
2 ounces light rum (take out rum for a non-alcoholic version that we tried)
Ice
Club soda
Mint leaf
Cut a 1/4-inch slice from center of kiwifruit to use for garnish; chop remaining fruit. Muddle diced kiwifruit, mint, sugar and lime juice in cocktail shaker. Add rum and fill shaker with ice. Cover and shake 10 to 15 seconds or until very cold. Strain into ice-filled highball glass. Top with club soda and garnish with sliced kiwifruit and mint leaf.
Baked Brie with Spicy Kiwifruit Compote
(16 servings)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Start to Finish: 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 (13.2 oz) Brie cheese round
2 tablespoons red pepper jelly
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Zespri® Organic Green Kiwifruit, peeled and diced
1 Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, peeled and diced
Assorted crackers
Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap Brie; trim and discard rind from top. Place cheese on ovenproof baking dish or pie plate. Bake 15 minutes or until softened and beginning to melt.
Meanwhile, in microwavable bowl, stir together jelly, mustard and pepper. Fold in diced kiwifruit. Microwave on high power 1 1/2 minutes, stirring halfway through heating, until hot.
Transfer cheese to serving plate, if desired. Top with kiwifruit mixture. Serve with crackers.
Black Rice Salad with Kiwifruit and Cashews
(6 (3/4-cup) servings)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Start to Finish: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked and cooled black or brown rice
2 Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, peeled and cut up
1 cup quartered strawberries
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
1/3 cup salted cashew pieces
In small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. In large bowl, stir dressing into rice. Stir in remaining ingredients except cashews. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving to allow flavors to blend. Stir in cashews just before serving.
*1 cup uncooked black rice yields 2 1/2 cups cooked rice.
Shades of Green Super Foods Salad
(6 servings)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Start to Finish: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 medium cucumber, about 8 inches in length
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cups chopped kale or mixed greens
2 Zespri® Organic Green Kiwifruit, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup shelled edamame
1/3 cup salted and shelled pistachios
Cut cucumber in half lengthwise and seed. Place cucumber seeds in bowl of food processor or blender container. Add lime juice, olive oil, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. Process until well blended.
In large bowl, massage half the dressing into kale with hands until leaves are coated and kale has turned a bit darker in color. (If using mixed greens, omit this step.)
Slice seeded cucumber; toss cucumber, kiwifruit, edamame and pistachios with kale and remaining dressing. Serve immediately.
SunGold Kiwifruit-Raspberry Cobbler
(8 servings)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Start to Finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter-canola oil blend
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
4 Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, peeled and thickly sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
Heat butter-canola spread in 9-inch oven-proof skillet or 8-inch square baking dish in oven until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.
Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Gently stir kiwifruit and raspberries in to sugar mixture to coat.
In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in buttermilk just until combined. Pour into pan over melted butter without stirring. Spoon kiwifruit mixture over batter.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until cobbler is golden brown and bubbly.
Zespri Kiwifruits are available at your local grocery stores. Check out zesprikiwi.com and join their FB page for more info and recipes.
*Special thanks to Rafia Ali who was my tasting-buddy/fellow note-taker at the event!
x
Shy
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