A slice of paradise

Never mind the Polytunnel strawberries that seem to be available from now until Christmas, it's still far too early in the year for home-grown fruit. Which is where tropical fruit that has been taking in the sun comes into play. For all the banana plants in designer gardens we'll never be able to grow our own fruit here, so there's no alternative to imports for juicy, fruity puddings. Not that tropical fruit is exotic, with bananas the UK's biggest-selling fruit. But among more unusual varieties arriving from warm climates are mangoes, papaya, passion fruit and mangosteen.

Never mind the Polytunnel strawberries that seem to be available from now until Christmas, it's still far too early in the year for home-grown fruit. Which is where tropical fruit that has been taking in the sun comes into play. For all the banana plants in designer gardens we'll never be able to grow our own fruit here, so there's no alternative to imports for juicy, fruity puddings. Not that tropical fruit is exotic, with bananas the UK's biggest-selling fruit. But among more unusual varieties arriving from warm climates are mangoes, papaya, passion fruit and mangosteen.

Just because it comes from sunnier places doesn't mean the fruit is sun-ripened. Often it is harvested under-ripe for transporting overseas and doesn't taste that good when it arrives. That's why bananas are such a good bet - they travel well, are easy to ripen and don't get bruised at the bottom of the fruit bowl.

It's so different when you eat tropical fruit in situ. Earlier in the year I went to Mauritius and on the beach at the Paradis Hotel were a couple of locals selling local fruits and salads. These guys, along with the jet skiers buzzing round the bay, can drive tourists nuts, and I don't normally give them the time of day. This time I couldn't resist. One had a long piece of bamboo with baskets attached to each end, laden with local fruits and vegetables. Before our eyes he knocked up a delicious cucumber, tomato and avocado salad, laced with his wife's home-made chilli paste and a natural dressing of olive oil and lemon, then seasoned to perfection with coarse sea salt and milled pepper. It tasted better than most restaurant salads, because he cared about every stage and the ingredients hadn't seen the inside of a fridge.

As if that weren't good enough, you should have seen what he did with the pineapple. First he trimmed the leafy top to a point, then peeled and quartered it and carved out some of the nobbly bits. With a bit more expert knifework he created four pineapple lollipops with clever handles made from the pointed, leafy bit he had trimmed first. His hand was hygienically covered with a disposable plastic bag while he chopped and trimmed and he delivered the lollies in another clean bag so they wouldn't get covered in sand, or could be popped in our ice bucket along with the rosé to keep cool. It was so good, we had the same lunch on the beach three days in a row and for next to nothing.

When it's properly ripe you don't have to do much to tropical fruit. Just enjoy that exotic moment-in-the-sun feeling that pineapples and even the everyday banana provide before an English summer starts and our seasonal fruit ripens naturally.

Pineapple upside-down cake

Serves 6-8

My introduction to proper cooking came when I opted for domestic science in the fifth year at school. I loved woodwork, but found metalwork painfully dull. Filing away at a piece of metal for four weeks seemed a dreary way to get a key ring. That was when, for the first time in history, boys could do domestic science instead of another subject. Only about four of us joined Miss Bell, a young Delia lookalike, for proper cookery lessons, but we had a bit of a laugh, and our first achievement was pineapple upside-down cake. When we recently put it on the menu at J Sheekey, it brought back fond memories of school.

1 small pineapple, peeled and cored
60g butter, melted

for the cake

250g butter, softened
4 large eggs
250g caster sugar
200g self-raising flour
2tsp baking powder
50g ground hazelnuts

Take a round, 30 x 5-6cm deep gratin dish or deep cake tin. Halve the pineapple lengthways, peel and cut into 1/2cm slices. Mix the 60g of melted butter and sugar together and brush f the mixture up the sides of the dish or tin, letting the excess fall into the base. Arrange the pineapple slices so they completely cover the base of the dish or tin.

Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/gas mark 4. Put all the ingredients for the cake in a mixing machine or food processor and mix together for a minute or so until smooth. Spread the mixture over the pineapple evenly and cook for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden. Leave to cool a little, run a knife around the edge of the tin and turn out the cake on to a plate or serving dish.

Serve hot or warm with thick cream or crème fraîche, or wait until it's cool and eat as a cake.

Banana won tons with passion fruit sauce

Serves 4

If you've had dim sum you'll probably have had savoury won tons, but you rarely see fruity ones on Chinese menus. Maybe the fear is that the fruit will be too hot inside and someone will burn themselves, but I'm sure they're no more risky than banana fritters. Wait long enough and it's great to bite into a crispy parcel of warm, sweet fruit.

You can easily buy won ton wrappers in Chinese supermarkets, fresh or frozen, and they are well worth keeping in your freezer, divided into small quantities for snacks when you have friends round.

16 won ton wrappers
3 bananas, peeled and chopped, or mashed
Vegetable or corn oil for deep frying

for the passion fruit sauce

3 passion fruits
2tbsp caster sugar
3tbsp water
1 small piece of root ginger (about 15g), peeled and finely chopped or grated
1 star anise
50ml orange juice
1/2tsp corn flour

First make the passion fruit sauce. Halve the passion fruits and squeeze the pulp into a small saucepan with the sugar, ginger, star anise and orange juice and water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half. Dilute the corn flour in a teaspoon of water, stir into the sauce and simmer gently for another minute. The sauce should be thick and syrupy now. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

To make the won tons place about a teaspoon of the banana into the centre of each won ton wrapper, brush a little water on to the wrapper and bring the corners together and twist a little to secure the filling. You may find that there's filling left so make more won tons to use it up.

Meanwhile heat about 8cm of oil to 160-180°C in a large thick-bottomed saucepan or electric deep fat fryer. Cook the won tons in two batches, removing them with a slotted spoon or a basket and transfer on to kitchen paper.

Leave to cool a little, then serve with the passion fruit dip.

Mango lassi

Makes 3-4 glasses

This is a delicious year-round drink often served in good Indian restaurants. The smoothie seems to be giving the lassi a bit of a run for its money these days. You'd be amazed how people turn their noses up at a lassi in a restaurant, but wouldn't think twice about ordering a smoothie. The better the mangoes the better the lassi will be, and at this time of the year I recommend fragrant little Alfonsos. The yoghurt is important too: the creamier the better. If your blender isn't very powerful, you may want to pre-crush your ice cubes in an ice crusher or in a bag with a rolling pin.

400-500g creamy thick yoghurt
3 small or 1 large ripe mangos, peeled and stoned
9-10 ice cubes crushed

Put all the ingredients into a liquidiser with half a cup of water or milk and blend for a couple of minutes, then serve immediately.

Tropical fruit salad

A tropical fruit salad or just a bowl of tropical fruits that you can chop up for guests at the last minute can look really impressive. You don't need a recipe, because what matters is the condition and ripeness of the fruit. At its most basic just cut pineapple, mangoes and papaya into chunks, with the skin on or off, and people can eat them with their fingers. Have slices of lime at the ready for a squirt of sharp juice to offset the sweeter fruit.

You could add dragon fruit, which look a bit like big red lily buds. The centre is soft and white with little black seeds, looking almost as if someone has filled them with sorbet. Other fruits, such as passion fruit halves, kiwi, lychees and guavas can all be a treat if they're properly ripe and you present them well. Guavas especially need to be really ripe, or they will take the roof of your mouth away. And yes, I did say kiwi. Isn't it time it was given another chance and allowed back to the dinner table taking its place among other tropical fruit, as long as it's not garnishing the main course?

Often Asian stores have the best fruit and will be selling the fragrant Alfonso mangoes from India, which are in season now.