Passion fruit, blood and guts

Whenever I heard “passion fruit” I used to think of tropical islands or processed fruit cocktail blends. I always thought it was more popular for what it could add to a name than for its flavor. “Strawberry passion” sounds much more exciting than “strawberry orange”, doesn’t it?

But then I finally tried a fresh passion fruit for the first time (this was a couple years ago). The outsides are hideously ugly – small wrinkly brown balls. The insides (or “guts” if you will) are a wee bit better: lots of large, blackish seeds surrounded by orange goo. The seeds are a very satisfying, crunchy texture. The orange goo is, well, gooey. But not entirely unpleasant. Tasty, even.

My favorite thing to do with passion fruit is to add it to cocktails. My favorite combination involves vodka, blood orange juice, and the innards of a passion fruit over crushed ice. Serve it with a straw big enough to suck up the seeds through. I haven’t actually named this invention, but obviously it’s going to have to be called something cheesy like “bloody passion” or “passion blood”. I love this drink because it’s fruity but not too sweet. And crunchy! How many cocktails can you say that about?