organic ingredients

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Make it at Home: Guacamole

At Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita, we not only believe in serving delicious, wholesome food to our guests, we want to share our passion for culinary arts through our Art of Life™ philosophy. As part of our Endless Privileges®, we offer a variety of culinary classes to our guests. Our goal is to teach simple techniques and tricks for making healthy and delicious food at home.

Recently, we hosted a class all about the art of making guacmole. Yes, that’s right, there is an art to making this irresistible snack. We started our class by picking fresh cilantro from our organic herb garden at the resort. The class turned out to be a lot of fun and all of the particpants couldn’t wait to eat the guacamole once the class was over! Take a look below for our simple recipe.

Fresh ingredients ready to be turned into guacamole!

Ingredients:

  • 1 tomato (it is important to make sure you have firm tomatoes with good texture)
  • ½ white onion (medium)
  • 1 Serrano pepper 
  • ½ lime
  • Large bunch of cilantro
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 ripe avocados (they should be soft when squeezed gently, with dark-green skin).

Cooking instructions:

  1. First, chop the tomato and onion coarsely; then chop the Serrano pepper and the large bunch of cilantro finely. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Squeeze the juice of ½ the lime onto the mix and season with salt and pepper. If you feel adventurous you can also add some chopped habanero chile that will emphasize the spicy flavor.
  2. Next, cut each avocado in half, working around the large and smooth pit. Separate the avocado halves and remove the pit (keep the pit you will want to use this later). Scrape avocado out of the shell and place into mixing bowl. Mash the avocado with a fork (avoid using a food processor or blender).
  3. Finally, mix the tomato mixture with the crushed avocado. Add a little bit of salt if needed. Remember the pit? This is when you will want to use this and add it into the mix. The pit and lime help to preserve the freshness of your Guacamole!

Service with tortilla chips & enjoy!

Wondering how the guacomole class went at the resort? Take a look at this video with feedback from two of the participants!

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Dominican Republic’s Passion Fruit is Delicious and Healthy

The Art of Life philosophy is not complete without Zoëtry Agua Punta Cana’s world fusion gourmet dining featuring organic and traditional ingredients.  Chefs from the resort’s restaurants, Amaya, Indigo and Maroon, use native ingredients to enhance the dining experience. Passion fruit, or Chinola as it is called in Dominican Republic, is a popular native fruit that is delicious and healthy. It is loaded with vitamin A and C, antioxidants, potassium and fiber.

This tropical fruit is the size of a tennis ball and has pink, purple or yellow-green skin.  Dominican Republic’s native passion fruit are commonly yellow. Inside the think skin is pulp with countless small dark seeds.  The crunchy seeds of the fruit are very vital sources of fiber. The pulp is a light-yellow or orange color and has a strong sweet fragrant.  Passion fruit can be enjoyed by itsself or used in a favorite recipe.

Similar to Zoëtry Agua’s philosophy, these fruits aid in the overall relaxation of the body.  It has been proven to help you enjoy a restful and sound sleep when taken before bedtime. Passion fruit can also help you power through your morning yoga session or afternoon tennis game because it is high in carbohydrates and simple sugars which both improve athletic performance. Enjoy passion fruit while you are staying at Zoëtry Agua or try the simple recipe below with passion fruit as the star ingredient. 

Passion Fruit Tropical Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
•Pulp from 1 passion fruit (or canned pulp)
•2 tsp of honey
•1 cup of natural yogurt
•½ a rock melon, sliced and skin removed
•4 strawberries
•¼ pineapple, sliced
•1 mango, cut and cubed
•1 kiwi fruit, halved

Preparation:
1. Cut the mango as shown.
2. Arrange the fruit on serving plates.
3. In a small bowl, whip the yogurt to give it a smooth consistency. Add the honey and stir well.
4. Cut the passion fruit in half and scoop out the pulp and liquid. (If using canned passion fruit just open and scoop out)
5. Add it to the yogurt and stir well.
6. Serve the fruit with a side of yogurt for dipping or drizzling and enjoy!