Positively pummelo

Again at the recent Feast of the Senses in NQ I enjoyed tasting and cooking with some of the different varieties of pummelo - Thai Pink and Carter Reds. The tropical climate around Innisfail is perfect for the pummelo originally grown in Malaysia and Thailand. The Pummelo is the largest of all the citrus fruits with segmented flesh containing hard white seeds.

I like the sweetness and juiciness - less bitter than grapefruit. They are best eaten fresh, after removing and peeling the individual segments but I think they're perfect for Asian style salads. The salad (pictured above) was made to complement some Spanish Mackeral supplied by local fisherman Shaun Hansen.

Peak pummleo season is coming up from May through to August. If you're in Cairns or travelling to Cairns you'll find them at Rusty's market. Look for fruit that has a bright smooth evenly coloured skin with no obvious blemishes. It can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

I'm fortunate enough to have a copy of Tropical Tastes, a book published by the former Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries that has been invaluable to my education about Pummelo and other Queensland tropical fruit.

For more information on pummelo and other tropical fruits visit: http://www.australiantropicalfruits.org.au/ or http://www.tefa.com.au/

Spanish Mackerel steaks with pummelo and mango salad
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 x 150g spanish mackerel fillets (skin on)
1 pummelo, peeled and segmented (keep any juice)
1 mango, diced into 1cm portions
120g green beans, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 salad onion, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1/4 cup thai basil leaves
2 cups bean sprouts, picked
1/2 sugar loaf cabbage, thinly sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
salt
freshly ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Method
Lightly salt mackerel fillets.
Cook in a preheated heavy based pan, on medium heat, with 50ml olive oil for 3-4 minutes either side until nicely coloured. Remove.
In a medium sized bowl, lightly toss pummelo, mango, beans, shallots, capsicum, salad onion, chilli, thai basil, bean sprouts, cabbage and lime leaves.
Add pummelo juice, 20ml olive oil and 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper.
Divide salad evenly between 6 plates, place fish fillet beside salad and serve.