Friday, April 17: About 10 years ago, Bill went out with his trailer and returned with six large-ish feijoa trees. They’d been discarded by someone he knew who’d changed his mind about feijoas, and they were free to a good home. Bill had it in mind that they could be the start of a community orchard in the reserve that is part of our subdivision. Our neighbour, Lindsey, helped us plant them that day. Lindsey had more tree-planting nous than we did so under her tutelage we dug, planted, and pruned them tightly. There were six trees and it was quite hard work. We did five and Lindsey and I decided the sixth was too puny to bother about and we dumped it. Bill went back later, retrieved it and dug it in. He watered them through their first dry summer and they sulked for two or three years before producing modest crops.
Nowadays, they don’t hold back and it’s raining feijoas at our place. I’m revelling in their distinctive pineapple-y flavour and jelly-like texture. The first mouthful each season is sheer delight. Bill’s gift to our neighbourhood feels particularly significant this year; there are 15 households who (if they’re feijoa-lovers) have fresh fruit on hand in lockdown. Wish we’d done more on the community orchard idea.
It’s a fruity day. I pick a big bag of feijoas then do a phone interview for Nourish magazine with Colleen Bourne, the volunteer co-ordinator of Community Fruit Hamilton. Colleen organises volunteer picking teams that rescue fruit that would otherwise go to waste. It is distributed to families who can’t afford to buy apples, pears, persimmons, citrus, feijoas and more, for their families. Colleen and her crew do great work.
Just before dusk, I go for a walk in the neighbourhood. I scarcely need to look left and right when I cross Te Aroha St at 5.30pm; the sky is moody, the silence is golden. I hear birdsong where there is usually the thrum of cars idling in a long tailback from the Grey St roundabout.
On the way home I step onto a carpet of feijoas on the footpath. An adjacent tree is shedding its crop; they’re everywhere, they’re everywhere. And, sadly, this season all the kids with feijoas in their gardens can’t set out gateway stalls to make a bit of extra cash.
Food matters: I’m making feijoa chutney, of course, and this year my foodwriter friend Lucy Corry passes on a new recipe. Lucy writes an excellent food blog – thekitchenmaid.com – and she warmly recommends Funky Monkey Feijoa Chutney from another website, thisnzlife.co.nz. I like it for the name alone, and will chop my feijoas immediately I’m finished with this.
Full attribution: the chutney is by Kristina Jensen, who shares the recipe on https://thisnzlife.co.nz/ You’ll see her full story there.
Chunky Monkey Feijoa Chutney
Kristina says the beauty of this recipe is how easy it is. Most of the hard work is done during the soaking phase, the flavours seeping in overnight to create the beautiful flavour, wickedly satisfying texture and aroma. It is a two-step, skin-on chutney with bite.
Makes: 4-5 x 400g jars (approximately)
Time: 3-3.5 hours hours (plus resting overnight)
INGREDIENTS
1kg feijoa (approx. 30-40 fruit,
depending on size)
2 onions, chopped
1 small lemon, zest and juice
2 fresh red chillies
1½ cups brown sugar
2 tsp garlic salt
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp cardamom, powdered
1 tsp cumin seeds
METHOD
The night before you make the chutney, top and tail the feijoas, cut them in half, then into quarters, then into 7-8 slices.
Place in a large casserole that has a lid (or use a roasting dish, covered with tinfoil) to keep the moisture in. Add the onion, lemon zest and juice.
Chop the chillies finely (de-seed them if you wish) and add them, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Stir, cover, then let it sit overnight.
The next morning, place the casserole or dish in a pre-heated oven (180°C) and cook for 2-3 hours. Stir every half an hour. It will thicken and turn a dark-brown caramel colour.
Pour into sterilised jars. Keep it hidden in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks to let the flavours really meld into each other.
Note: also check out Jan Bilton’s excellent (and easy) Feijoa Kasundi, another favourite. You’ll find it at eatwell.co.nz
2 replies on “Day 28”
And let’s not forget feijoa cake. It may not make much impact on the feijoa glut, but it is definitely a seasonal treat. Recipes that don’t require peeling are definitely an advantage.
Our neighbour has just carefully deposited a bag of feijoas at our gate. I have washed and rinsed them, and I’m going to make the chutney. It sounds delicious.