We usually enjoy la macedonia (“fruit cup”) in summertime when peaches and other summer fruits are in abundance. But kiwis in abundance recently inspired a winter macedonia. Anna Maria came to visit the other day bearing gifts: the first poinsettia of the season – and a Christmasy-red wicker basket full of persimmons from her family home in Latina (south of Rome)
Pino I had recently purchased lemons and oranges from un siciliano from Catania who drives up to Umbria every week with his own citrus fruits – picked just two days prior – which he sells by the crate (only) off his truck parked near Assisi. Tantalizingly juicy oranges – and the perfume of the lemons’ peels is simply heavenly.
Our family has enjoyed the buonissima fruit this week and just a few oranges and lemons are left. They seemed to beg to be united with the kiwis in a macedonia. And we had organic apples and a banana to join.
Carla – from Switzerland – set to work today to cut the fruits for this Italian winter dessert.
First step: squeezing the juice of two lemons into a bowl and then Carla diced the oranges:
The diced apples joined the oranges next, with seeds and cores discarded into the white plastic bucket for the chickens (the goats would win the orange peels):
Diced kiwi soon joined the apples and Anna Maria’s family cultivates both the yellow variety (Jinyang) and the green (Boerica):
Bananas, logicamente, joined in last to avoid the darkening of the fruit.
Grazie mille, Carla, che macedonia squisita!
Pino, Carla and I enjoyed our macedonia after our lunch. I later noted that the one cup of the fruit left was sitting next to one of the last of Nando’s persimmons.
Why not? I carved out the center of the ripe persimmon, adding the persimmon pulp to the cup of fruit. I then filled the persimmon with the fruit.
…..and from now on, our winter macedonia will become a “persimmon cup.” (When we have persimmons……rivaling Nando’s).
