While we were in Oahu, Hawaii, we partnered with Kahumana Organic Farms on the Waianae coast! They are an amazing group of people supporting local economies and provided us with one of their produce boxes while we were visiting.

In that day’s produce box was some starfruit or carambola! Starfruit is a rigged fruit, with a tough skin and fleshy inside – similar to a grape. The entire fruit is edible and varies from sour to sweet on its own. During our trip to Hawaii, we were staying with friends for free, and I wanted to provide a thank-you meal in return. One of the things I got was some local cuts of steak and I knew I wanted to add some type of topping to it. This is where the idea for a starfruit chutney came to life!

Chutney is a type of condiment, often found in Indian cuisine, however, it has a very wide reach in the culinary world. It varies in what it is, from yogurt-based to herb-filled, to spiced, and of course even fruit! For the starfruit chutney recipe, I wanted the starfruit to be the main focus, but wanted a little richness and my California twist, with the addition of red wine. And because I wanted to use ingredients that were also commonly grown in Hawaii to complement the steaks, I added some fresh ginger that was also in my box from Kahumana Farms.

I liked this recipe so much, I made it again recently with some leftover Santa Maria rubbed tri-tip – and it was amazing. You can see more of what we’ve been up to in Hawaii on our Instagram, and you can read more about the amazing people at Kahumana on their website!