Summer in India is synonymous with three things: scorching heat, unbearable humidity (like, you-can-feel-yourself-melt-into-a-puddle-of-sweat humidity), and proud Indians proclaiming an undying love for mangoes. While mangoes truly are wonderful, there is an abundance of gorgeous summer fruits available this season. Refreshing chilled watermelon that provides a moment of respite, juicy black plums that leave a purplish hue on your tongue, drip-down-your-chin peaches, and sweet sweet lychees — there’s so much on offer. These seasonal fruits are bursting with flavour, and are delicious as a pick-me-up snack any time of the day.
This time of the year is when farmers markets spill over with an abundance of beautiful fruit, and we are inspired to use it up in all the ways we can. Fruit obviously goes deliciously well in desserts, but summer fruit particularly can add a little something special to many savoury dishes.
Here are some of our favourite ways of cooking with summer fruits, using them in both sweet + savoury recipes.
Stone Fruit
Stone fruit like peaches, apricots, plums, and lychees are available for such a short period during the summer that we like to make the most of them for as long as they’re in season.
~ When you find ripe, juicy peaches in the market, cut them up and add them to salads. Grill some with a little sugar and serve on top of overnight oats for breakfast, or with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Make a healthier frozen treat by blending it up with coconut milk and freezing it into popsicles, for the quintessential peaches and cream summer dessert.
~ Apricots make wonderful preserves — cook them down with a little bit of sugar + a squeeze of lime, until completely broken down into a sauce/compote. Add a few mint leaves right at the end to freshen it up. Surprisingly, it tastes delicious with this molten chocolate cake!
~ Indian black plums (also known as jamun) are delicious, and packed with nutritional benefits. While delicious on its own with some rock salt, jamuns also make a delicious compote to top pancakes and crepes with. You can also use them to make a thirst quenching summer cooler.
~ Though lychees originated in China and are popularly used in Chinese desserts, they are also widely popular in India. Make a lychee pannacotta, or blend them up with some plant-based milk and freeze into popsicles. They’d also taste delicious in a freshly tossed salsa — use in place of tomatoes in this pico de gallo. As with most stone fruit, you can also cook them down to make a lychee jam or compote.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are probably my favourite on this list, and one of my all-time favourite ingredients to use in recipes. Though it’s rather fiddly to deseed a pomegranate, I think it’s worth the time and effort. I always find ways to sneak them into pretty much anything — so it’s definitely a bonus that those gorgeous ruby red arils instantly make any plate instagrammable.
Pomegranates are a wonderful addition to salads, specially those that lean towards Middle Eastern or Mediterranean flavours. Use them to top salads, grain bowls, or dips.
To use up an abundance of pomegranates, cook them down with some honey for a homemade jam. Use the jam on toast, serve it on a cheeseboard, spoon it over ice-cream. It also tastes delicious when slathered with peanut butter in an old-school (but upgraded) PB & J.
Another way to use them up is to juice them and cook down the juice until it’s dark, thickened, and syrupy (resembling the consistency of honey), for homemade and preservative free pomegranate molasses. Drizzle the molasses on dips, swirl it in Greek yogurt for a snack, or mix it in salad dressings.
Melons
Both the honeydew and cantaloupe melons that we get in the summer are sweet, fragrant and oh so delicious! Chilled melon cubes are such a refreshing snack in the afternoon, but there’s more that you can do.
~ Chop them into cubes and dress with a quick lime vinaigrette, top with mint and feta cheese for a delicious fruit salad.
~ Blend them with cucumber, yellow bell pepper, chilli + something acidic (vinegar/lime) and olive oil for a quick melon gazpacho with just a hint of sweetness.
~ Puree the fruit and strain, then serve it with some sugar, lime, water and ice for a Mexican inspired melon agua fresca — a delicious summer cooler. Spike it with booze for the adults!
~ Blend and freeze into popsicles; or freeze, then scrape with a fork for a melon granita
~ Even simple slices of chilled melon served with Greek yogurt and honey are delicious as a low-sugar dessert.
Watermelon
Even though it’s a melon, watermelon deserves it’s own category! I don’t think there’s anything more refreshing than eating chilled watermelon slices, sprinkled with a little salt on a hot summer day. Alternatively, you can juice them up with some salt and lime for a summer cooler like no other. Top with mint leaves to make it fancy!
Watermelon also tastes great in salads, when paired with a salty cheese like feta, or goat cheese; and herbs like basil and mint. Cube it, marinate with lime and mint, and use in a poke bowl (to mimic fresh tuna).
And when you have an abundance of watermelon, blend them and..
~ freeze into popsicles (that taste delicious with a sprinkle of salt and chilli powder)
~ make granita
~ mix it with booze for summery cocktails
~ try this watermelon gazpacho recipe that is ideal for a no-fuss, no-cooking dinner on hot summer nights
PS. Did you know even the watermelon rind can be chopped and cooked down with some honey or sugar to make a watermelon rind jam? That’s right, you can actually eat those kitchen scraps you previously discarded!
Mangoes
Can it be a complete list on summer fruits without featuring mangoes?
Now, come summertime, mangoes pop up in desserts and beverages across the country, and really using them in either of the two is a no brainer. But, we want to talk about mangos in savoury dishes, because they can seriously make so many of these dishes go from meh to WOW.
~ Salsa. it’s equal parts tangy, spicy, sweet, tart, and delicious. It will make every taste bud tingle in excitement.
~ Gazpacho. Another fruit that lends beautifully to this savoury summer soup with just the right amount of sweetness.
~ Mango in salads — anything that could use little mouthfuls of sweetness. Try this black rice + mango salad and this mango soba noodle salad for good measure.
~ They taste delicious in these Vietnamese summer rolls, and pair excellently with pretty much any fresh seafood too (grilled shrimp or fish, in ceviche — anything that has a hit of lime and chilli).
Grapes
Though most of our grape consumption is definitely in wine form, we do love the fresh fruit when it’s in peak season during the summer! Sweet grapes are so delicious on their own, but take it a step further by freezing them — they’re a great natural dessert that provides instant respite in the heat. Quick tip: dunk frozen grapes into a glass of wine to chill it without watering it down! Use green grapes for white wine, and red grapes for red wine.
We also love mixed grapes tossed in a quick slaw with with crunchy cabbage and a quick creamy dressing, or in a fresh couscous salad with feta cheese. Top a toast with hummus and sliced grapes for a sweet + savoury snack.
When you have too many grapes and they’re starting to get mushy, cook them down (either on the stove top or in the oven) — red grapes work better for this. They make an excellent jam or compote to top desserts with, or spread on toast with peanut butter.
Oranges
A slice of orange or a squeeze of fresh orange juice almost instantly brightens anything.
~ Add fresh orange segments to salads — a mix of sliced avocado, red onion, and orange with a simple olive oil + salt and pepper dressing is divine
~ Use the zest in any dressing or sauce that requires brightening; same goes for desserts
~ Add sliced oranges to sangria, or use fresh juice to make mimosas or cocktails
~ Oranges have such a powerful citrus fragrance that they can be used to infuse just about anything with the bright flavour. Add peels to olive oil, or your favourite bottle of alcohol; infuse sugar syrup and caramel with the zest and peel
~ If you have too many oranges, make a compote or marmalade
Jackfruit
Jackfruit is no doubt the most controversial fruit on this list. I’m not sure what exactly brought the humble jackfruit, native to South India, such widespread hate. Maybe it’s that it feels rather slimy, could it be that sickening smell of ripe jackfruits…or is it the fact that it is too intimidating to handle?
Well, here’s the thing. Jackfruits are native to India where we get them aplenty over the summer months, and while they are unpopular (and unexplored) in the mainstream Indian food scene; jackfruit is having quite a moment everywhere else in the world. It’s been hailed as similar in texture to “pulled pork”, which makes it a fashionable meat replacement for vegans.
Unripe jackfruit has a pretty neutral flavour, so it can be cooked with different spices in a variety of savoury dishes — like tacos, burgers, and sandwiches, or cooked down into curries. The ripe, bright yellow fruit is sweet (similar to banana or mango) and can be eaten raw, although it has a rather strong smell that takes time getting used to. Jackfruit can also be dried, roasted, or dehydrated as chips and eaten as a snack. I also recently saw a blogger on Instagram make hummus from boiled jackfruit seeds, so really, the sky is the limit with this underrated fruit!
The ideas and recipes here will help you explore new ideas of cooking with summer fruits, showing you how to make the most of excess fruit. Ways to use them up when they’re still fresh and bright, straight from the farmer’s market; but also how to put them to good use when the fruits are slightly past their prime — and you can’t bear to see them go to waste.
What is your favourite summer fruit to cook with?
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