When you are chosen to come up with an original recipe with kiwifruit, you tend to lean towards dishes that are traditionally sweet such as fruit smoothies, breakfast items, or desserts. But what do you do when you find out that you're chosen to take this beautifully sweet fruit and turn it into an entree?
That's what I got to do when I received my Kitchen PLAY assignment. Many would be worried or wouldn't have a clue what to do that could be different than other recipes out there, and so was I. When you hit a road block with food and how to cook with it, do a little research on it!
I found out with the help of the ZESPRI site and wikipedia that kiwifruit is loaded with vitamins such as C and E, high in antioxidants, fiber, and is low in calories/fat. If that doesn't make you want to eat them, then just think of how delicious they are with their soft and sweet flesh!
Kiwifruit is originally from southern China, and you may have heard the expression "What grows together, goes together." This gave me the idea of working with more ingredients from oriental cuisine such as ginger, pork (a meat that works well with sweet ingredients such as fruits and honey) and sesame oil.
I also didn't want to do something too traditional. I decided to turn my kiwi and pork inspiration into ravioli using homemade pasta! This gave way to the idea of a light vinaigrette using Kiwifruit not only for the sweet and tangy flavor it has when paired with rice wine vinegar but also the bit of a crunch thanks to the little black seeds.
ZESPRI Kiwi Infused Pork Ravioli
Kiwi Infused Pork Filling
- 1lb ground lean pork
- 3 Zespri kiwifruit, peeled
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 chili pepper of your choice for heat, minced (optional)
- Pasta dough, either fresh from the grocery store or make it yourself!
Zespri Kiwi Sesame vinegrette
- 1 kiwifruit, peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Take your peeled kiwifruit and place in a bowl, using a fork to mash the kiwi into small chunks. Add in pork, garlic, ginger, salt, ground pepper, green onions and chili pepper. Using your hands, mix well so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, but no longer than 30! (Kiwifruit acts as a tenderizer and will break the pork down fairly quickly.)
Prepare the vinaigrette by adding kiwifruit to a bowl and mash with the back of a fork. Add in ginger, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. Whisk well or place in a jar/bottle with a lid and shake. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Take a sheet of pasta and lay out on a lightly floured surface. Using a spoon, place about 1/2 tablespoons of the pork filling out on the pasta about 1 inch apart. Take another sheet of pasta and put on top.
I don't have a pasta cutter or a round small cookie cutter so I used the rim of a wine glass to cut out the pasta into round shapes.
Wet a finger with water and run it around the edges of the pasta. Press the edges together, making sure to get the air out of the ravioli before finally sealing the edges together with the back of a fork. Set aside and repeat with the rest.
Boil lightly salted water and add the ravioli a few at a time. Cook about 2-3 minutes. Remove the ravioli from the water with a slotted spoon.
Place cooked ravioli and kiwifruit vinaigrette in a bowl, tossing to coat and serve.
Separately, one may wonder how to work with all these ingredients, but together they become an amazing dish with loads of sweet, tangy, savory flavor and a subtle crunch!
If you prefer to use a different meat or filling other than pork, try ground turkey/chicken or minced mushrooms for a vegan/vegetarian dish!
This month's sponsor, ZESPRI Kiwifruit, is holding a contest that you can participate in!
In order to enter, try this Kiwifruit Infused Pork Ravioli (or one of the other fantastic Kiwifruit recipes submitted to the Progressive Party at Kitchen PLAY) and blog about your experience. Be sure to mention and link to both Kitchen Play and to ZESPRI as well as commenting on the Kitchen PLAY website letting them know what recipe you choose and the URL to your specific post about that recipe.
Make certain you check out the contest and rules for more details and enjoy!
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