Here in Hawai’i I discovered tomarillo at the farmers market, and fell in love with it. I had an idea to try combining it with loquat and tomato to make a salsa, and it turned out fabulous. It’s a refreshing, delicious treat for any time of day.
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What is Tomarillo?
Tomarillo, also called the tree tomato, is a sweet and tangy fruit. It’s delicious and tastes like a tropical, fruity tomato. It’s egg shaped, related to a tomato, and has blood red seeds. Tomarillo has variety of health benefits including anthocyanins and carotenoids for heart health, vitamin A, vitamin C, and and potassium. This little fruit has a bitter skin, but is perfect inside for deserts, topping salads, and salsa.
What is A Loquat?
Loquat, also known as Japanese plum or Chinese plum, has been used medicinally for centuries. It’s small, round, and yellow-ish, turning orange when very ripe. Loquat leaves and fruit are used in traditional Chinese medicine to make syrup that aids the lungs and cures cough.
You can see my recipe to make loquat syrup out of the leaves and fruit here.
Loquat is not only a medicinal fruit, though. It is also extremely delicious and sweet, with a little bit of tang. You can eat the skin, and replant the brown seed within.
Where Did This Recipe Come From?:
I created this recipe from scratch, and you can certainly play with the amounts to put in. I am not one to measure things extremely accurately, as I work best intuitively. This came out amazing, and I hope you love it. Let me know in the comments when you make it, and what you think!
Ingredients For Tomarillo Salsa With Loquats:
1. Small bunch of loquats
2. Small bunch of tomarillo (in this particular batch I used 6 of each)
3. Shallots or onions, leeks if you’d like!
4. One tomato, here I used a local yellow one.
5. Garlic
6. Citrus; I rotate between lemon, and lime.
7. Hot pepper of your choice.
8. Olive oil and a drop of balsamic vinegar.
9. Salt, pepper, and garlic powder if you’d like.
10. Fresh herbs like cilantro or basil.
How To Cut & Use The Tomarillos In Tomarillo Salsa:
To begin, peel the skin from the tomarillos and discard it. Then cut the fruit open in half.
If you do not like crunchy, harder textures, then discard the tomarillo seeds. I personally keep the seeds in for tomarillo salsa because I love how they taste. You can also choose to scoop the seeds out and use the flesh. I just use a peeler, chop it small, and add the seeds and fruit in together. The fruit is delicious.
How To Cut & Use The Loquats In Tomarillo Salsa:
Wash your loquats and then slice them open. Set aside the brown seeds, and you can replant them to grow loquat trees. Dice up the loquat flesh and mix it with the sliced tomato, and the tomarillos.
Mix Ins For Tomarillo & Loquat Salsa:
Next you are going to simply add in the rest of your ingredients, mixing them together. First mix in your garlic, shallots, and onion. Then add your oil, spices, herbs, salt & pepper, and a small drop of vinegar. I believe you could substitute a ton of flavors here at the end, but personally I love oil and vinegar with some lemon.
Lastly, to top off your delicious tomarillo salsa, add in your fresh herbs and greens. I like to add scallions, cilantro, and sometimes basil, whatever is fresh in my garden.
The final product looks like this:
Then scoop and enjoy with some chips, or as a topping on salads and dinner plates. This loquat salsa delicious, healthy, and fruity tasting.
Let me know how you like it!
All my love,