Grab a few of those spiky, juicy fruits and get that BBQ and blender ready
Surely you’ve been to a stack of parties by now, you’ve eaten way too much food and you’re starting to worry about making your New Year’s resolutions, or even just fitting into your pants. So why not buy some pineapples and have a bit of fun with these prickly fruits?
They’re high in fibre, vitamin C, fat free, and the best bit? They’re packed full of bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins, so it’s great for digestion (yay!), and you can use it to tenderise meat. Meaning you just might be able to fit back into your work wardrobe after all.
And here’s a random pineapple fact for you to pull out at the dinner table, pineapple is not strictly speaking a fruit, rather it’s 100-200 fruitlets all fused together.
You don’t have to “like getting caught in the rain” for these easy recipes.
BBQ Pineapple
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pineapple
2 cups Greek style yoghurt
4 tbsp crushed macadamias
Method
1. Cut the pineapple lengthways into eighths.
2. Grill on the BBQ for a few mins on each cut side of the fruit until you see nice caramelised grill marks.
3. Serve each quarter with a small bowl of Greek yoghurt topped with the crushed macadamias.
Note: No, don’t peel it. It looks divine with the skin still on. After cooking, just run a knife between the skin and flesh and cut into segments, but serve this dish intact, on the skin.
Pineapple green smoothie
Serves 2
Ingredients
½ pineapple, cut into chunks
½ banana (65g)
1 cup coconut water, chilled
Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh mint
20g (1 cup) baby spinach leaves
1tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Small Lebanese cucumber (70g) cut in half
Method
1. Put all ingredients into a blender and blitz for a couple of mins.
2. Pour over ice cubes into two long glasses and serve.
Roast pork with pineapple chilli salsa
Serves 4
Ingredients
1.5kg rolled pork roast
½ tbsp sea salt flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
Salsa
½ pineapple, diced into small pieces
1 red chili, sliced finely (seeds optional)
Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
½ avocado, diced into small pieces
Juice of a lime
Pinch of sea salt
Cracked black pepper
Method
1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Rub salt and olive oil into skin and place in roasting tray. Roast for 30 mins, then turn down to 180 degrees Celsius and roast for a further 30 mins or until skin is crisp and cracking (use this method if the skin on option is chosen).
2. Mix all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl and leave in the fridge for an hour for the flavours to develop.
3. Remove the pork from the oven, discard the fat layer and slice the meat.
4. Serve the meat topped with the pineapple salsa and serve with boiled kipfler potatoes and a big green salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice dressing.
Note: Be aware that if you eat the crackling you are getting more fat and energy, but if you’re trying to lose weight, remove it before eating.
All recipes courtesy of nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan for Australian Pineapples
Photos: Australian Pineapples
