Passion Fruit Pesto Recipe
INSPIRED BY PUERTO RICO
In Puerto Rico, passion fruit is known as parcha. It's often used in juices, ice cream, and pastries. The fruit, found in many other tropical countries, consists of a rind that encases about 250 seeds, which are each surrounded by membranes of an acidic juice.
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​The name passion fruit dates back to the fruit’s origins in South America, particularly in Brazil. The passion fruit flower appeared in religious drawings, and priests saw them as symbols for Christ’s Passion.
SAVE FOR LATER
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup shelled cashews
flesh of 3 passion fruit
1/2 cara cara orange with rind, plus 1 tablespoon juice
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon honey
Directions
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Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor. Blend until the desired consistency forms.
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If using a mortar and pestle, crush the cashews until a fine crumb forms. Add the passion fruit, cara cara orange, and basil, and mash until smooth. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Mash until the desired consistency forms.
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Store pesto in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for up to one week. Use throughout the week in the next two recipes. Pesto can last in an airtight container in the freezer for up to six months.
Uses
Caribbean Coleslaw with Mango
Cabbage is one of the most widely used vegetables in Latin American countries. Mango is also a popular ingredient in Puerto Rican cooking. Even though mango is not indigenous to the island nation, mango trees line Puerto Rico’s roadsides, sometimes growing up to 40 feet tall.
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Piña Colada
In 1978, Puerto Rico named the piña colada its national beverage. The drink is said to have been first concocted in 1954 by Ramón Marrero, who then personally served the cocktail for the next 35 years while he bartended at a hotel in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.
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