Farmers market report: Passion fruit is in season

What’s in season: “Passion” might not be the first word that leaps to mind the first time you come across these odd-looking, deep purple-brown, wrinkled fruits. But open the leathery skin and take a spoonful of the fragrant filling — sweet-tart and creamy, studded with jelly-like seed pods, or arils — and it’s hard not to become a fan. Look for fruit that is soft, dimpled and/or wrinkly for the best flavor; passion fruit that is smooth and firm is not fully ripe and can be overly tart.

What to cook: Passion fruit is a natural paired with similar “tropical” fruits — coconut, papaya and guava — and is used to flavor a variety of beverages and cocktails, granitas, chilled mousse desserts and sauces. But it works equally well on the savory side, so much so that chef Curtis Stone devoted a month to the fruit at his Los Angeles restaurant Maude, with dishes that included duck, John Dory — and foie gras.

What’s on the horizon: Bartlett, Seckel and other pears are beginning to show up for a pear season that generally runs well into October.

Click on the photo gallery for links to additional passion fruit recipes.

1/5

Recipe: Mango and passion fruit sorbet

  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

2/5

Recipe: Passion fruit mousse

  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

3/5

Recipe: Passion fruit batida

  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

4/5

Recipe: Brooklyn bar sundaes

  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

5/5

Recipe: Macadamia-guava tea bread

  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

MANGO AND PASSION FRUIT SORBET

Note: Adapted from “The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen,” by Amelia Saltsman.

2 mangoes, about 1 pound (450 grams) each

2/3 cup (135 g) sugar

1/3 cup (75 milliliters) lime juice, from about 2 limes

1/4 cup (60 ml) water

Pinch of salt

1/4 pound (115 g) passion fruit (2 to 4), or ½ cup (120 ml) passion fruit purée

1. Stand a mango, stem end down, on a cutting board and use a serrated knife to cut from the top to the bottom, running the blade close to the pit. Turn the mango around and repeat on the opposite side. Use a spoon to scoop the flesh from the skin and transfer it to the jar of a blender. Cut away any usable flesh attached to the pit, peel it and add to the jar. Squeeze the pit over the jar to extract the juices from any flesh clinging to the pit. Repeat with the second mango.

2. Stir the sugar, lime juice, water and salt in the blender and purée until smooth. Taste the purée, and if it is fibrous, strain it through a sieve into a bowl.

3. To prepare the passion fruit, halve the fruit and scoop the pulp and seeds into a small bowl. Mash the pulp with a fork to liquefy, then stir the pulp and seeds into the mango mixture. (If using purée, stir directly into the mango mixture.) Cover and chill the mixture several hours, up to overnight.

4. Make the sorbet: Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pack into a chilled container, cover tightly and freeze, preferably for several hours, before serving. Remove from the freezer about 10 minutes before serving to make the scooping easier.

Each of 16 servings: Calories 66; Protein 1 gram; Carbohydrates 17 grams; Fiber 1 gram; Fat 0; Cholesterol 0; Sugar 15 grams; Sodium 18 mg

noelle.carter@latimes.com

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