It's getting to that time of year when there's no avoiding them – those little green torpedoes with the unmistakable aroma and flavour, which will be falling from trees all over Nelson for the next couple of months.

Yes, it's feijoa time again and for those who can't get enough of the fruit but wouldn't mind a few new ideas for things to do with them, the New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association comes to the rescue.

FEIJOA UPSIDE DOWN TART

Serves 6-8

50g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp golden syrup
Seven to eight feijoas cut in half lengthways
400g Sweet short pastry

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Melt butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a pan. Pour mixture into a 23cm round cake pan.

Arrange feijoa halves over the mixture. Roll pastry out in a circle to cover fruit.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry is golden. Remove and stand 10 minutes.

Hold a large plate over the top of the pan and turn upside down. Cut tart into wedges and serve warm.

FEIJOAS IN RED WINE WITH A HINT OF STAR ANISE

8 feijoas
piece of lemon rind
1/2 cup sugar
2 star anise
1 Tbsp cornflour
1/2 cup red wine
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp flaked almonds

Wash and peel feijoas and leave whole. In the saucepan put the first measure of water, sugar, red wine, lemon rind and star anise. Heat gently until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Add feijoas and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Take care not to overcook.

Arrange fruit in a serving bowl. Strain the juice. Mix cornflour with water to form a smooth paste. Pour into the feijoa juice. Return to the heat, stirring continuously until sauce thickens. Cook 1-2 minutes. Serve with the fruit, sprinkled with almonds. Serve warm.

SWEET AND SOUR FISH

500g skinned and boned firm fish fillets
oil for frying
2 tsp dry sherry
1/2 cup cornflour
1 tsp salt
Sauce:
1 Tbsp grated root ginger
2 spring onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
3 Tbsp each white vinegar, tomato sauce, orange juice, sugar
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1 cup peeled and diced feijoas
1 tsp cornflour

Cut the fish into 4cm chunks. Season with salt and sherry then toss in cornflour.

Heat oil for deep frying then fry fish in batches until golden. Drain on absorbent paper and keep warm. In a clean pan, heat 2-3 Tbsp of oil and stir-fry the ginger, onions and garlic for about 30 seconds. Add all the other sauce ingredients except the cornflour.

Mix the cornflour into a paste with a little water and stir into the sauce, cooking until thickened.

Serve over the fish.

FEIJOA MOUSSE WITH NOUGAT

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp gelatine
600g feijoas
360g ricotta
180g nougat

In a small pot combine the sugar and water and place over low heat, stirring until dissolved. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the gelatine over the top. Set aside to cool.

In a food processor puree the feijoas, add the gelatine mixture and the ricotta and process briefly or stir to blend. Pour the mixture into individual glasses and chill at least six hours.

Crumble the nougat in a food processor (or chop finely) and sprinkle over the mousse and serve.

- © Fairfax NZ News