At work I have this amazing colleague, Niaz. He brings me a surprise every now and then … some times a bouquet of curry leaves and then other times some of his special firebrand chillies (these are HOT!). The other day he was generous enough to bring a huge bag of guavas to the office and told everyone to just help themselves. They were still completely green – so I took 5.
The green guavas lay in the fruit bowl on my kitchen for about a week like sunbathing pensioners on a cruise ship. One day after work I came home and the quavas had ripened and their intoxicating aroma permeated the kitchen. I realised then it was time …
Guavas for me are just so very flavoursome but it is rather difficult to pair them with something because of their distinct and sometimes overbearing flavour (…in a good sense that is…) and taste. You see some fruits are subtle to the palate and others somewhat flamboyant. Well, these guavas were flamboyant and juicy, all dressed up in their natural skins with nowhere to go. I peeled them and poached them in a lovely ginger syrup. The ginger works so delicately and perfectly with guava (*put in mind to remember this) – it gives a bit of heat that’s just intoxicatingly delicious. To round of this pairing I added a little touch of mint.
I served it with a scoop of ice cream. Flamboyant with a capital F is perhaps the only way I could describe it.
- 200 g Guavas peeled
- 250ml (1 cup) Water
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) Sugar
- 1 Thumb of ginger– thinly sliced in matchsticks
- A few mint leaves
- Pinch of salt
- Put all the ingredients in a pot and poach the guavas on low heat for about 10 minutes and allow the guavas to rest in the ginger infused syrup until luke- warm. Add a sprig of mint to the syrup and a generous dollop of the best full-cream ice cream you can find.
Thanks Ush x
they do look gorgeous, however i personally do not like them and that is simply because while grwing up, we had 2 large trees in our garden they made a huge mess
Oohhh dit klink ook baie lekker. Sal by Errieda gaan koekeloer!
Am definitely going to try this recipe. Made a guava and strawberry dessert once from a recipe of Errieda du Toit ( Huis kok)— with a crumble. Guavas are very popular in our house, so tomorrow!!!!!!
Mhhhh guavas and custard = match made in heaven!
Hello darling Sue, my hubby feels the same 🙂
Thanks Mary – i think you will love it.
Thanks Judy! Let me know what you think x
Guavas and custard …… One of my altime favorites! Love the little zoo twists!
They look lovely, but sadly I have never come to terms with guavas.
good morning Anel
Gosh this really looks and sounds awesome I cannot wait to try it
I would never have thought of Ginger with Guavas
Have a happy day
This looks so delicious – I love poached guavas. I am inspired to make these over the weekend, the heat from the ginger and freshness of mint seem like a brilliant combination.