Loquats are the most underused, under picked, and unknown fruit that exist, such a shame. In the Levant they grow in abundance and also in Southern California! In Arabic we call them Azkadenya which is a lot of fun to say. They are a citrus fruit that I can only describe as a mix between a kumquat and apricot, almost like a tiny citrus peach. They have a thin peel and a few large seeds so once you remove those they’re ready to eat. They’re great to snack on alone but today I am going to make a bright salad with them.
Serves: 4
Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
10-15 Loquat
0.5 Green Cabbage
0.5 Red Onion
2 Radish
2 tbsp Rosemary (chopped)
1 Lemon
10-15Cherry tomato
2 Cucumber
0.25 cup Olive oil
1 tsp Salt
0.5 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
Start by washing and drying all the ingredients. It goes without saying but just to reiterate, any dirt on the veggies can create weird tastes or worse, get you sick, so be sure to thoroughly wash everything.
Shred the cabbage, thinly slice the red onion and radish, quarter then dice the cucumber, and finally halve or quarter the cherry tomato. Add all to a large mixing bowl.
For the loquats, cut an x and the tip and carefully remove the peel. Then cut in half and remove the seeds. Discard the peel and seeds, quarter the fruit, and add to the bowl.
Finally finely chop some fresh rosemary and add to the bowl. Season with salt, black pepper, and aleppo pepper if you like. Add the juice of 1 lemon and olive oil. Mix well and enjoy!
Someone in my neighbourhood has a loquat tree that’s laden with fruit right now.
I kinda wanna ask them for some so I can try this.