MoFo 2013 - Day 5 - D is for Dragonfruit

I was at Whole Paycheck the other day and they had this funky and fun looking fruit right by the front door. I am a little ashamed to admit, I have never worked with Dragonfruit before. I had to look up on the internet how to get to the prize in the middle.

Dragon fruit also known as Pitaya are native to Central and South America. There are three different varieties: white-fleshed, yellow-fleshed and my personal favorite the red-fleshed. Mine was actually a gorgeous magenta as you can see. While the color was vibrant and gorgeous, the flavor was pretty mild and dare I say a bit boring? The texture reminded me quite a bit of kiwi. Because it has such a mild flavor, I decided to keep it simple.

Preparing the fruit is very easy. It is just cut in half lengthwise. Then the flesh can be scooped out gently with a spoon (I used my trusty grapefruit spoon). This simple preparation included the fruit diced and gently tossed with a few blueberries and drizzled with a touch of agave nectar. I think pineapple would be a fantastic partner to Dragon fruit, but we didn't have any in the house.

I've seen it used in sorbet and cocktails. I have to guess it is more for the color than the flavor. I don't see this fruit making my regular rotation as it is a bit pricey. But it would be fabulous for in impressive garnish for special occasions. You never know if you are going to get the red or the white variety, which makes it kind of a fun surprise. I was excited I got the beautiful red variety!