Let fruit be the hero of your festive feast
Bursting with colour, flavour and nutrients, festive fruits deserve more than side-dish status at the Christmas table. Here’s how to let them take centrestage.
Festive fruits not only bring joy and vibrancy to the Christmas table, they’re also packed with nutritional goodness.
Rather than a sideshow feature of your festive feast, Rosemary Devola, from popular Melbourne fruiterer’s Devolas of Brighton, says they can hold their own as the hero dish on Christmas day.
“Fruit tends to get a bit lost on Christmas Day,” Rosemary tells The House of Wellness TV.
“We use it to decorate our cakes, our pavs, or use it just as a side.
“But the good news is I’m here to turn fruit into the hero.”
Festive fruits for Christmas Day
Rosemary says there’s an abundance of luscious in-season fruits to choose from, to help your Christmas banquet dazzle, including strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, pomegranates, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries and gooseberries.
“But my favourite are the cherries,” Rosemary says.
“These guys might be small, but they’re mighty powerful – packed full of goodness, vitamins, minerals, rich in potassium (essential for your nervous system), high in fibre, and loaded with antioxidants to help with inflammation.”
She says some people swear that cherries even help them sleep better.
“But most of all, they’re delicious, and look fantastic on a platter – they’re the perfect Christmas decoration.”
Pomegranates are another richly colourful and highly nutritious addition to your Christmas spread.
“The juice, the pip, the seeds and the rind contain three times more antioxidants than green tea,” Rosemary says.
She says the best way to seed them is with a knife and a gentle hand.
“Cut the crown, very gently, not cutting through the actual seeds; pop off the top, then carve (down) the rind very gently (in quarters); then tear it open, (and) turn it inside out.”
Rosemary’s family festive fruits salad
Move over carved meats – Rosemary’s watermelon salad gives her Christmas table a fruity twist.
“Most people like to cube their watermelon, but I like to slice it as I do my Christmas ham,” Rosemary says.
“Then I simply add my toppings – sliced radishes, sliced cucumber, diced up feta, toasted pine nuts which give the salad a bit of an added crunch, fresh parsley… and then, for the pièce de résistance, is our pomegranate.
“Now look at that for beautiful colour.
“Splash on a vinaigrette dressing for a burst of flavour.”
More fruity goodness:
- Citrus fruit salad with fennel
- Fruit ice lollies
- Pavlova wreath topped with fresh fruit
- Why eating seasonal fruits and veg tastes better
Written by Claire Burke.
