In our 5 years of existence, we’ve seen thousand-and-more incarnations of the classical burger format. We’ve thought we’ve seen them all until we heard reports that there’s a new fruit-in-a-bun in town! This is the story of a fruit that disguises itself as pork! It started life in a bun but has nowadays grown into a ciabatta. It was called burger on inception but is now sold as a sandwich. Are you baffled yet? Don’t be, because all this is happening right now at the Grassyhopper in Gzira, and we’re heading right there…
The Grassyhopper is a beacon for local vegans. It’s the place to-be if your lifestyle revolves around vegetables. Their popular BBB (Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burger) is one of our favourite non-meat burgers of all time, so it’s no wonder that it skyrocketing into the Top 5 Veggie Burgers of 2017. Not wanting to sit on their laurels and enjoy their success as Malta’s Mecca of Green, they kickstarted the year with a different creation; a burger made from Jackfruit. They did not stop at that. They have also streamlined their whole operation and relocated all their resources to the Gzira restaurant. It’s been upgraded, redecorated and polished from head to toe, and now looks more chic and grassy than ever. The one in Valletta is no more though.
If you mostly consume meat and haven’t ever heard of Mr. JackFruit, then you are excused, because most people haven’t. This jackfruit in question comes from South America, and looks big, green, with a spiky melon resemblance! Indeed, the jackfruit is a type of tree that is very well-endowed when it comes to fruit. A single jackfruit can grow up to 40kg and more, and it has plenty of uses especially in the vegan world. Its versatility is two-fold because when ripe, the yellowish jackfruit’s taste is comparable to pineapple, pear, banana, and papaya. The unripe fruit is said to taste like pulled pork or chicken. And that’s what we’re most interested in, because who doesn’t love a burger made from pulled pork?!
Jackfruits saw a rise in mainstream popularity in Europe in 2016, but vegans have been dining on it for much longer than it’s been in the news cycle. Indeed, in India, jackfruit has been around for as much as 6000 years! There’s even a good use for the seeds because when boiled and skinned they’re almost like little-roasted potatoes. We’ve also heard of vegans drying and grinding them as a gluten-free flour.
When you consider all the pros and pros of this fruit, it comes as no surprise that the next objet d’art for the green guys at Grassyhopper was to build a burger around the jackfruit. But they were not well tickled with the first version. They wanted to cram as much jackfruit as possible in one little burger, but the size of the bun was restraining the progress. This is when their signature wholemeal ciabatta, sprinkled with flax seed, sunflower seeds and oats came to the rescue. And the jackfruit burger was turned into a long sandwich, with as much as three times more meaty pulp than before.
Joshua, a cheerful chap with a funky hairstyle, is stewing the jackfruit meat in a big pot. It looks like all this jackfruit could feed an entire village, and indeed it will, because later on tonight there’s a hip Cuban Night, and the place will be filled with people eager to eat and dance the night away. There’s a concentrated smell of spices in the air, so we are off to a good start. The jackfruit meat is cooked with onions, garlic, smoked paprika, olive oil, miso paste and soy sauce. Miso paste is made from a mixture of soybeans and rice that have been fermented with salt and water. The salty paste can amp up any dish, and we believe that it was quite an ingenious move to include it in the mix. The longer you cook the jackfruit, the more the flavour will develop by way of infusion with the other spices and ingredients. Jackfruit breaks up easily in the pan, and its resemblance with shredded pork is hair-raising. There’s a variety of chunky lumps and pulled pieces in the mix. The more shredded it is, the more texture you get.
The ciabatta is filled with a mix of green salad leaves and jammed to the brim with shredded carrots, onions, cucumbers, orange zest, ginger and as many tomato slices as can fit. Joshua truly does a stellar job at feeding the patrons and keeping them coming for more, day after day. This veggie mix is so bright and colourful that you would want to eat it all, even as it is. Grassyhopper always try to source their veggies from local farms that produce organic and pesticide-free crops, and indeed they bring in an element of crunch and crispiness, that we always look for. On top of it all goes a creamy mush of vegan mayo, made with mustard, vinegar, soy milk and olive oil. Mayo lovers will rejoice to find out that there’s even more vegan mayo as a side.
Many spoonfuls of jackfruit go on top, finishing this creation. The plate is filled with spicy and roasted potatoes, which are creamy and tasty. Maltese-style roasted potatoes are one thing, but if you love your potatoes more on the creamy side, then you will find the Grassyhopper version to be on a whole other level of fineness! They are packed with potato flavor and deliciously seasoned, even though we wish they had a bit more roasted crispiness on the outside.
So how did this bizarre tropical fruit taste like in the end? Did it manage to imitate pulled pork and grade as an equally satisfying meat alternative after brewing for several hours on the hob? Truth is, raw jackfruit does not have any particular flavour! The fruit is simply a vehicle for a well-crafted sauce, so what you will experience is the delicious dressing, with the jackfruit bringing in a texture punch. The consistency is quite meat-like, and while it’s a little bit softer than actual chunks of pork, it makes little, if any difference. We’re big-time suckers for peculiar burger structures, and this time we were not disappointed at all. If you try to pull a trick on your meat-obsessed friend, by giving him this jackfruit sandwich, there’s a good chance he’ll be fooled to think it’s some kind of meat. Grassyhopper have managed to conceive a common ground for both vegan and meat lovers alike and created a winner of a sandwich that can be truthfully devoured by all. If you never had a veggie burger in your life, this is the one you should try. And if you’re vegan, you already know what we’re talking about!
Since jackfruit has a fibrous flesh that can take on almost any flavour, it would be interesting to experiment what this fruit would taste like with something like chili or curry. Maybe we can find that out next time…
