Salmon with Kiwi Sauce Recipe

I hate wasting food but sometimes it happens. I buy too much of something or it just gets lost in the back of the fridge. The worst is when I buy a lot of food and then am not home to cook it. Some foods can be saved like mushy bananas that become banana bread. Floppy carrots, onions and celery go in my chicken stock to give it flavor.

I always used to throw away overripe kiwi fruit, but not anymore. In addition to my kiwi cake recipe, I discovered that mashed kiwis make a great sauce for fish. Next time you have overripe kiwi fruit, try mashing it in a bowl and tasting it. It's tangy and sweet at the same time. The crunch of little seeds adds nice texture. I added Asian flavors and put the resulting sauce on top of a simply cooked piece of salmon, but I bet this sauce would be good on halibut, scallops, shrimp or even fried calamari. The sauce keeps in fridge for at least 3 days.

Another way to use mashed kiwi fruit is in guacamole. It has an amazing ability to keep your guac from browning, must be all that vitamin C. What fruits or vegetables have you saved from the compost heap? I'd love to hear your success stories!

Note: When you cook fish you may be frustrated that it is overcooked by the time it gets to the table. Always take the fish off the heat or out of the oven a minute or two before it is completely cooked since it will continue cooking with the carryover heat.

Kiwi Sauce for Salmon
serves 2

Ingredients

2 fillets wild or sustainably farmed salmon, about 12 ounces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, grated or finely mined
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Sauce
1 green kiwi, a bit overripe is fine
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
Sriracha hot chili sauce, to taste, a couple of drops is fine

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place fish skin side down on a foil-lined rimmed sheet pan, season with salt and pepper and rub with grated garlic and ginger and bake until not quite cooked through, about 10 minutes, it may take a few minutes longer if your fish is very thick.

Meanwhile mash the kiwi in a bowl and add the ginger, soy and Sriracha sauce and stir to combine. Plate fish and top with sauce.

Enjoy!

Zespri is sponsoring a kiwi recipe contest, if you have a recipe to submit, find more details here.

Kiwi Matcha Lime Tea Cake Recipe

I remember when kiwi fruit first started showing up in the market and were a real novelty. It's funny to think they were originally named for their brown exterior, because I now think of kiwi as the vibrant green color of the fruit inside. Back in the 80's they seemed to appear exclusively in fruit tarts, providing a bright color contrast. Kiwi fruit is in season at the moment and thanks to a surplus, I've been experimenting. It turns out, they are surprisingly versatile and can take the starring role in many recipes.

There are two kinds of kiwi fruit commonly available and they are different both in look and taste. The green variety is tangy and has a citrus like flavor. The yellow version is a little more elongated and tastes sweeter with tropical notes. Technically both are berries, refreshing and juicy with a little crunch of seeds. They are full of vitamins and good both raw or in recipes. One kiwi has more than 100% recommended daily allowance of vitamin C and contains potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin E and is low in carbohydrates.

Because of the tangy flavor, kiwi is great in salsa, vinaigrettes and frozen in popsicles or sorbet. I made a terrific guacamole last week with some kiwi fruit and avocados, but ate it before I could snap a picture. I think you can use them almost anywhere you might use a fresh slice of tomato.

If you have too much kiwi and it starts to get soft, use it in this pretty green cake. It's a quick bread in the style of banana bread. It's tangy and moist, not too sweet, and great with a cup of tea. The matcha and lime just complement the kiwi but are not dominant flavors. You could leave out the matcha if you want, but if you are interested in finding ways to use matcha in baking, this is a good one. More great ideas and information about kiwi fruit are available on the Zespri site.

Kiwi Matcha Lime Tea Cake

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons matcha powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, (1 stick) softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup peeled mashed very ripe kiwi fruit, green, yellow or combination
Zest of one lime

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 X 5 loaf pan, preferably non-stick. 
Whisk together flour, baking powder baking soda, matcha powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to creamed mixture and thoroughly combine. Stir in mashed kiwi fruit and lime zest. Fold in dry ingredients, stirring until batter is completely moistened. Spoon batter into pan and bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan and continue cooling on rack.

Enjoy!