good things - Liz Posmyk
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • My book
  • Writing & Media
  • FAQs

Margaret Fulton's vanilla poached tamarillos with highland mist

16/6/2014

 
Vanilla poached tamarillos with highland mist
Welcoming Australia's National Treasure, Margaret Fulton, to the cooking school on numerous occasions years ago was a real privilege and most memorable for me. For not only have I always admired Margaret's passion for cooking, but the dishes the lady prepared, and the gusto with which she prepared them, was nothing short of awesome! 

One of the recipes that Margaret cooked was Poached Tamarillos with Highland Mist. The recipe was from her book, A Passionate Cook (Lansdowne). This dessert remains forever imprinted on my taste buds. Each year I can barely wait for tamarillos to be in season and was delighted when I saw some at my local greengrocer recently. 

For the uninitiated, tamarillos (Cyphomandra betacea), or tree tomatoes, are egg-sized yellow, orange or red fruits. I think they are a most beautiful, yet perhaps least known and least appreciated fruit! 

So, what does a tamarillo taste like? To my palate, the taste is quite distinctive and tangy, perhaps best described as a blend of tart passionfruit with vine-ripened tomato. Inside the bitter inedible skin lies a deliciously tangy, soft flesh with seeds not unlike the texture of a tomato. 

Tamarillos are versatile and can be served either cooked or fresh. To enjoy the fruit fresh, simply cut ripe fruit in half and scoop out the flesh and pulp with a spoon. You can serve tamarillos with a platter of cheese. Tamarillo is also delicious in tarts and other sweet baked goodies, and makes a lovely sauce for smoked or rich meats, such as duck.

When buying tamarillos, look for ripe fruit which feel firm and have yellow/black stems. Ask an expert (a.k.a. your favourite fruiterer) to choose for you if you are unsure. Ripe fruit should be stored in a plastic bag or container in the refrigerator and, stored correctly, will keep for up to three weeks. A final note: it is advisable not to cut tamarillos on a wooden or other such surface, as the juice leaves a permanent stain. 

You say (tree) tomato, I say tamarillo...

Tamarillos or tree tomatoes

The 'recipes'...

VANILLA POACHED TAMARILLOS
To poach tamarillos al la Margaret Fulton and make a dessert for six people, start with 12 tamarillos. Then combine in a saucepan 375 mls of water with half a cup of caster sugar and half a vanilla bean (seeds scraped) or one teaspoon good vanilla extract. Bring slowly to the boil.

When the sugar has dissolved add the tamarillos, then reduce the heat and gently poach the fruit for about five or six minutes. Remove the fruit and boil the syrup to reduce the amount of liquid by about half. Carefully peel the fruit and place it into a bowl. Pour over the syrup and pop into the refrigerator until you're ready to serve. You can either serve the fruit whole or halved with cream, custard or with Margaret's Highland Mist. 

MARGARET FULTON'S HIGHLAND MIST
To make Highland Mist, you need 18-20 coconut macaroons, biscotti or amaretti biscuits, which you crush with a rolling pin. Place the crushed biscuits into a bowl and add two or three tablespoons of fresh light cream and four tablespoons of good whisky (Margaret's favourite). Stir the mixture to a paste and then Margaret suggests that you spread a layer in a small crystal or glass bowl. Cover this layer with some double whipping cream that has been whipped with some vanilla essence or vanilla bean paste. Repeat the layers until all the macaroon mixture is used up. Chill the Highland Mist and serve it with fresh sliced strawberries or the poached tamarillos. This amount will serve six.  

Gently poach the whole fruit in a vanilla syrup...

Vanilla poached tamarillos in the pot
Print Friendly and PDF

A dessert that remains imprinted on my taste buds...

Vanilla poached tamarillos with highland mist
This recipe has been reinvigorated from the archives on my Market Basket pages, where it was originally published in 2011, so many of you won't have seen it. It's one of my favourite dessert recipes and as such I am delighted to be able to share it far and wide. I do hope you will add it to your repertoire.

Tell me dear readers, have you ever tasted a tamarillo or tree tomato? Do you grow them? What's your favourite way of eating them?
Maureen link
15/6/2014 06:59:18 pm

I haven't had tamarillos since I left New Zealand. They're everywhere at the north of the north island where we lived. I'd love these poached in vanilla.

Lizzy
16/6/2014 10:28:31 am

'Everywhere'? How delicious! We can only find tamarillos sometimes. I love them too.

Rosa link
15/6/2014 07:59:32 pm

Very original and delicious looking! I love th eidea.

Cheers,

Rosa

Lizzy
16/6/2014 10:28:42 am

Rosa, thank you : )

Manu link
15/6/2014 08:24:17 pm

I never had tamarillos before, but I would LOVE to try them! I will have to keep an eye out to see if I find them! Delicious looking recipe!

Lizzy
16/6/2014 10:29:05 am

Thanks Manuela, yes, you should try them if you get the chance. : )

Rick
30/7/2017 10:25:26 am

Just had some poached for breakfast in Ecuador. Delicious

Krista Bjorn link
16/6/2014 09:39:32 am

I have never tried these, Liz, but they look and sound beautiful!! I will look for them for sure. :-)

Lizzy
16/6/2014 10:29:23 am

They are Krista, do give them a try if you get the chance : )

Jo (Quirky Cooking)
16/6/2014 10:13:15 am

I love tamarillo chutney!! A friend of my mum's used to make it, and it was rich and spicy and hot - loved it on steak! If only I could find the recipe...

Lizzy
16/6/2014 10:13:37 am

Hiya Jo. Yay! Someone else in the universe knows how good tamarillos are! Try this site for the receipt http://www.tamarillo.com/sauces_and_chutneys/

e / dig in hobart link
16/6/2014 12:32:42 pm

i don't think i've had a tamarillo since i left NSW over 15 years ago... i remember though their jelly like texture. quite extraordinary. i wonder if they are even available here? or can be grown in tassie? thanks for a most exotic post lizzy.

Lizzy
16/6/2014 12:41:20 pm

They are quite amazing, aren't they Elizabeth. My pleasure... I hope you get to try this one : )

Eha
16/6/2014 01:47:15 pm

Do hope you have had your foot op by the time you read this and all is on the mend now! How many weeks off your feet? Tamarillos - love them when I can find them and am happy to have them just as they come in nature :) !

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:28:38 pm

Eha, thanks very much! : )

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella link
16/6/2014 04:23:49 pm

Good tip about cutting the tamarillos! My chopping board is full of stains from fruit :P

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:28:55 pm

Yes, we almost need one specifically for fruit, no?

cheri link
16/6/2014 05:07:23 pm

Wow! never heard of these before, looks like a tomato and grows on a tree. Very interesting!

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:29:15 pm

Cheri, they are quite divine, do try them if you get the chance!

ela@GrayApron link
16/6/2014 06:31:19 pm

These look beautiful, Liz.

ela h.

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:29:29 pm

Ela, thank you : )

Gourmet Getaways link
17/6/2014 03:28:51 am

Interesting! Great technique in getting out the fruit's flavours! Thanks for sharing!

Julie
Gourmet Getaways

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:29:42 pm

Thanks Julie! : )

ami@naivecookcooks link
17/6/2014 05:27:36 am

Never heard of tamarillo before!! Gorgeous!

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:29:54 pm

Thanks so much!

Liz link
17/6/2014 07:23:45 am

What a gorgeous fruit! And a simple, yet scrumptious dessert. I hope to be able to sample a tamarillo one day.

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:30:08 pm

Oh Liz, I hope you can too!

Barbara | Creative Culinary link
17/6/2014 07:50:03 am

I don't know about finding tamarillos but I'm sure keen on making some of that highland mist...sounds divine!

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:30:21 pm

It is rather yummy, Barbara : )

Jennifer Milk and Honey link
17/6/2014 10:46:49 am

My parents-in-law had a huge tree in their garden. They always stewed them and we ate them with custard (not fancy, but utterly delicious). You've brought back some lovely memories.

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:30:37 pm

Oh wow, how wonderful Jennifer!

InTolerant Chef link
17/6/2014 05:13:20 pm

Don't these look pretty! My mum grows these in Queensland and likes to eat them raw. I'll send her this recipe for sure :)

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:30:55 pm

Bec, thank you kindly, I hope your mum will enjoy them!

My Kitchen Stories.com.au link
17/6/2014 09:59:56 pm

Wow I remember these being a dessert we made in restaurants in early nineties. It was on every menu and I poached a darn lot of Tamarillos. I do love it in chutney and when I worked in New Zealand they were everywhere and cheap as chips and in everything you can imagine.

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:31:20 pm

Wow that is incredible!!

Hotly Spiced link
18/6/2014 12:16:47 am

Growing up in NZ, I was very familiar with tamarillos. We ate them all the time. I loved them and still do although they're a lot harder to source in Oz. I always cut them in half, sprinkled them with sugar and then blow-torched them. Thanks for introducing me to a lot more cooking methods. I'd love to try poaching them xx

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:31:42 pm

Yum Charlie, I like the sound of that too!

Fiona @TIFFIN bite sized food adventures link
18/6/2014 12:52:00 am

I love Tamarillos Liz so this recipe really appeals to me. And I love the slightly twee name 'Highland Mist'.

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:31:50 pm

Fiona : )

Karen (Back Road Journal) link
18/6/2014 01:42:49 am

One nice thing about blogging is all the new things you learn about. I doubt I will ever see a tamarillo in rural New England but it certainly does make for a pretty dessert.

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:32:04 pm

It sure is delicious too, Karen!

Choc Chip Uru link
18/6/2014 02:44:52 am

This is an interesting dessert, so exotic :D

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:32:27 pm

Thanks so much CCU

Adri link
18/6/2014 09:28:40 am

Oh my, but what a delight! I adore vanilla poached fruit. It is such a simple and elegant preparation. And about the Highland Mist. I say yes!

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:32:41 pm

Adri, thanks kindly!

MandyTheCompleteBook link
19/6/2014 12:40:18 am

What a fabulous idea!
Have a super day Lizzy.
:-) Mandy xo

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:32:54 pm

Thanks Mandy, you too!

Mary Frances link
19/6/2014 04:11:33 am

I never heard of a tamarillo before. The insides are absolutely gorgeous!

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:33:09 pm

They are, Mary... and taste it too!

David Scott Allen link
19/6/2014 05:42:29 am

I have never heard of a tamarillo before - thanks for the intro. I have to wonder if anyone in the States is growing them. I need to find out. This recipe looks wonderful but I may have to try it it peaches, plums, apricots or pluots.

Lizzy
19/6/2014 03:33:22 pm

Yes, do try it David : )

foodwanderings link
20/6/2014 03:34:37 pm

Wow. Once in awhile I come across something that amazes me and today is one of those days. I have never head of tamarillos, Lizzy. Absolutely love this post. I learned something new today.

Alice link
20/6/2014 05:42:44 pm

Indeed were so lucky to have a National Treasure as wonderful as Margaret Fulton. I've rarely tried Tamarillo's, but saw them recently in the shops (so it's nature hinting) that I must try this recipe! Looks so luxurious with the dollop of cream and perfect for winter time too.


Comments are closed.

    Welcome...

    Üdvözölöm
    Photo of Liz Posmyk, Food Writer, Cook and Traveller

    ​Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion.
    ​
    Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers
    and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks
    ​and cooking.
    ​
    - Liz Posmyk

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner


    All
    Anzac
    Apple Growers
    Australia
    Australian Producers
    Autumn
    Baking
    Beverages
    Biscuits
    Book Reviews
    Bread
    Breakfast
    Butter
    Cakes & Slices
    Canberra
    Charmaine Solomon
    Cheese
    Chestnuts
    Christmas
    Cocktails
    Coffee
    Conversations
    Cookies
    Cookware
    Cuisine Companion
    Curries
    Dairy Products
    Desserts
    Diet
    Dough
    Drink Blog
    Easter
    Edible Gifts
    Eggs
    Egg Safety
    Essays
    Events
    Favourite Flavours
    Fish
    Food News
    Food TV
    Food Verse
    Fruit
    Giveaways
    Good Things Favourites
    Growers & Producers
    Guest Post
    Health
    Hummus
    Hungarian Recipe
    Ice Cream
    In My Kitchen
    Kids In The Kitchen
    Kitchen Garden
    Markets
    Meat
    Muffins
    Musings
    My Book
    My Family
    New Year
    Noodles
    Nuts
    Observations
    Olives
    Pancakes
    Pasta
    Pastry
    Pepe Saya
    Pink Martini
    Pizza
    Polenta
    Postcards And Morsels
    Poultry
    Preserves
    Prize Giveaways
    Prunes
    Reminiscences
    Retro
    Reviews
    Rice
    Ricotta
    Salad
    Salads
    Sandwiches
    Sauce
    Seafood
    Slow Cooking
    Snacks
    Soups
    Stop Hunger Start Cooking
    Sydney
    Tefal
    Thanksgiving
    Thank You
    The Barber From Budapest
    Tofu
    Travel
    Truffles
    Tweatup510064f8ec
    Tzatziki
    Valentines Day
    Vegetables
    Vinnies Christmas Appeal


    NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes. 

    Picture
    Winner ABC's 2015 Australia Cooks competition, ACT (mains category)
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Meet the Chefs - recipes featured on Australian Asparagus Council website

Good Things is written and published by Liz Posmyk © 2011-2020.   All rights reserved.
Excerpts may be used provided that full and clear credit is given. Thank you.


Photos used under Creative Commons from alantankenghoe, riptheskull, David Jackmanson, Amani Hasan, SuntanMidori, oropeza, Annie Mole, Vegan Feast Catering, avlxyz, jeffreyw, mockstar, jenly, Syeefa Jay, pizzodisevo (therapy - terapia - Therapie), ginnerobot, cliff1066™, Jim, the Photographer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • My book
  • Writing & Media
  • FAQs