Whipped up in 15 minutes, this Red Tamarillo Salad is super easy to make. Enjoy the sweet and tangy tamarillo fruit accompanied by aromatic basil, sweet pops of cherry tomatoes and creamy chickpeas. No cooking required; this salad really aims to please!
Cut a small cross at the bottom of the tamarillo and place inside a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over the tamarillo until fully submerged. Leave it for 3-4 minutes. Remove the tamarillo and run under cold water. The skin would have curled a little. Using a paring knife or your fingers, peel the skin.Cut off the stem and cut the tamarillo into 6 wedges. Set aside
Peel shallot and slice thinly to yield 1 tbsp.
Pick basil leaves to yield 1 cup.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
Drain and dry enough chickpeas to yield ½ cup.
Salad Dressing
In a small mixing bowl, add the pesto, olive oil, white wine vinegar, water, salt and pepper to taste.
Mix until well combined.
Assembly
In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the shallots, basil, cherry tomato, chickpeas and the pesto salad dressing. Mix until well combined.
On a serving platter, place half the tossed salad.
Add half the tamarillos wedges around the salad.
Add another ¼ of the tossed salad.
Add ¼ of the tamarillos again.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Finish off with the rest of the salad and tamarillos.
Serve.
Notes
Tamarillos tend to stain; hence this is a “build” salad and not tossed through with the rest of the ingredients.
You can’t get your hands on some shallots; you can use small pickling onions.
For this recipe, I used pre-made vegan pesto. You can, of course, make your own or use any pesto sauce you prefer.