It’s probably no big surprise that I am a big breakfast and bowls fan and ever after making two cookbooks, I still love to start my day with a breakfast bowl. In my ‘All-day breakfast’ book, I already shared an Açai Bowl recipe (with a smoothie bowl variation) and in ‘All-day bowls’ you’ll find a tropical Aloha Bowl with mango and raspberry.
During a trip to Miami last year, I discovered something else: the bright pink Pitaya Bowl, sometimes called Dragon Bowl or Dragon Fruit Bowl. It’s not that well known here in the Netherlands yet, but it’s gaining popularity quickly.
Pitaya is sometimes called dragon fruit and is sold at Asian food stores, wholesales and in some large supermarkets. I heard that places like Whole Foods sometimes sell frozen pitaya packages as well, but I’ve yet to find something similar here. This fruit has a very brightly colored pink skin and is white inside and tastes surprisingly mild, especially when compared with its colorful appearance. The flavor kind of reminds me of pear.
If you blend frozen pitaya, you’ll be rewarded with a gorgeous pink fruit puree: almost neon-like when you just use the skin (minus the leathery outside layer) and softer pink when you also use the inside. I like to add some frozen banana slices and pieces of mango: they both bring lots of extra flavor and creaminess to a pitaya bowl. The end result is a bowl filled with delicious fruity ice cream that just happens to be really good for you too.
And as is true for most of these bowls: just go crazy with the toppings. Grated coconut and fresh fruit always work, but I rarely make a pitaya bowl without adding some nuts and a handful of granola. It’s such an amazing sunny, fruity breakfast to start your day of just right!
INGREDIENTS
for 1 person
1 large pitaya, chopped (frozen)*
½ banana, sliced (frozen)
small handful of mango, chopped (frozen)
splash of almond- or coconut milk
toppings of your choice
extra: strong food processor or very strong blender
* I remove most of the leathery outside of the skin, must leave a bit of pink skin for color.
DIRECTIONS
Place the frozen fruit in the bowl of your food processor and add the milk. Blend until you’ve got a smooth, creamy mixture with a fruit sorbet-like texture. If your food processor isn’t strong enough, you can thaw the fruit a little.
Scoop the frozen fruit puree in a bowl and sprinkle over the toppings of your choice. Serve and eat straight away!
