Dragon fruit is one of those what on earth is, it must try it kind of fruits. You see it once in a blue moon; nestled amongst the nectarines and apples in the greengrocer and think it looks altogether too weird to spend your money on. Curiosity got the better of me this time and I parted with my hard earned pennies. What would happen if this was the most delicious fruit ever and I missed out?

Once home everyone offered their five cents as to the look of the fruit (by and large optimistic) and googling the nutritional values suggested it was low in calories, high in phosphorus, loaded with vitamin C, was an awesome antioxidant, was full of fibre and extremely low in calories. All of which ticked the boxes when it came to being a worthwhile treat. Dragon fruit (also known as pitaya is even believed to help regulate blood sugar levels in Taiwan, diabetes sufferers are urged to eat them by doctors.)

So we sliced it open and tried it. It was mildly sweet and tasted oddly like a cross between kiwi fruit and pear. The kids pulled faces at the thought of something new, which is why I made a fruit salad out of it. And the result was divine. Somehow the dragon fruit added a different dimension to the flavour of the fruit salad, one that I hadnt come across before and strongly recommend.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

1 cup of deseeded black cherries
1 diced dragon fruit
2 diced fresh peaches
2 cups diced strawberries

1 cup of freshly made apple juice
teaspoon good vanilla essence.