There is a bowlful of passionfruit in the kitchen which came from our friend’s tree in western Sydney. They are greenish yellow and the size of a small orange. Over the course of the past couple of weeks, they have slowly turned pale yellow all-over, crinkly-skinned and filled the kitchen with the exotic smell of ripening passionfruit.
A few we ate, the pulp simply scooped out over creamy yoghurt for breakfast. But they are quite sharp which made me think they would work well, balanced with saltiness in a salad dressing. I make this easy noodle dish, tossed with passionfruit pulp, lime juice and fish sauce dressing, for a light lunch.
ingredients
1 passionfruit
1 lime, juiced
fish sauce to taste (soy sauce for vegetarians)
1 garlic clove, crushed
handful of coriander, chopped
1 birds-eye chilli, (optional)
1 eggplant, sliced
180g soba noodles
1 small shallot, sliced very thinly
olive oil to fry eggplant
method
Heat up enough olive oil in a frying pan to shallow-fry the eggplant in three or four batches. Once golden brown remove, drain on a plate lined with kitchen towel and sprinkle with salt.
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and rinse well under running cold water and leave to drain in a colander.
In a mixing bowl, scoop out the pulp of the passionfruit, then add lime juice, crushed garlic and enough fish sauce so there is a balance of sour and saltiness.
When ready to serve, add the noodles, eggplant, coriander and shallots to the dressing and toss well.
