I am personally amazed by jackfruit. If you’ve never had it, it’s like a banana as far as fibrous fruits go but has the consistency of shredded meat. Like chicken, young jackfruit is pretty neutral tasting and makes a great base for your favorite sauce or seasoning combo. I’ve seen jackfruit in the freezer section of Whole Foods but haven’t experimented much yet. This recipe requires a visit to Trader Joe’s.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Jackfruit Cakes:

• 1 box Trader Joe’s Jackfruit Cakes
• 2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Thai Red Curry Sauce
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil Mayo (or vegan substitute)
• Microgreens for garnish

For the rice base:

• 2 c cooked brown rice
• 1/4 c chopped parsley (or cilantro if you prefer)
• lemon juice to taste
• 2 c zucchini and/or yellow squash, chopped
• 2 tsp pitta seasoning blend
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven and cook cakes according to jackfruit cake directions.
2. Meanwhile in a warmed skillet, add olive oil to the pan. Sautee veggies until evenly coated with oil and add pitta seasoning blend. Cook until tender. About 5 minutes.
3. While the veggies are sauteing, combine Thai Red Curry Sauce and mayo in a small bowl. Reserve for jackfruit cakes.
4. Add 1/4 c chopped parsley (or cilantro) to the brown rice and squeeze lemon over rice. Combine adding more lemon to taste as desired. When veggies are done, add to rice.
5. To plate: Add 1/2 c or so of rice and veggie mixture to the plate, top with jackfruit cake. Add a dollop of curry sauce mixture onto jackfruit cake and top with microgreens.

How we’ve enjoyed this dish:

• Sub out herbed brown rice for Trader Joe’s Riced Cauliflower Stir Fry for an even quicker meal packed with even more fiber.

A fun comparison:

The table breaks down nutrition facts for 1 c of shredded jackfruit vs. 1 c shredded chicken. While I’m not an advocate for tedious calorie or macro counting, I still find it interesting to compare.

Jackfruit	Chicken
150 calories	275 calories
1g fat	11g fat
3mg sodium	99mg sodium
739mg potassium	343mg potassium
38g carbs	0g carbs
31g sugar	0g sugar
2.5g fiber	0g fiber
2.8g protein	42g protein
B6 .5mg (42% DV)	B6 .6mg (43% DV)
C 22.6mg (38% DV)	C 0mg (0% DV)
Magnesium 47.8mg (14% DV)	Magnesium 32mg (10% DV)
Iron .4mg (5% DV)	Iron 1.8mg (8% DV)