VOTE: A Next Iron Chef Pineapple Showdown — Rival Recipes

Chef Mendelsohn vs. Chef Mehta - Rival Recipes

On last week’s episode of The Next Iron Chef, rival chefs Spike Mendelsohn and Tim Love went head-to-head in the Secret Ingredient Showdown. They battled it out with pineapple, otherwise known as “the death fruit,” according to Alton, since it’s ousted all past Next Iron Chef finalists who’ve tried to feature this sweet, juicy fruit in a savory dish. Both chefs tempted fate by cooking decidedly savory dishes, and in the end, this cursed ingredient got the better of Chef Love. Chef Mendelsohn, however, claimed victory over his rival — and pineapple — with a savory seafood dish with pineapple and sweet and sour sauce.

This week’s Rival Recipe matchup forces Chef Mendelsohn to once again bring his pineapple A-game, this time in a showdown against Chef Jehangir Mehta. Both rivals boast standout recipes for pineapple-focused fruit salads: Chef Mendelsohn a colorful Fresh Fruit Salad with red and green grapes, bright pineapple and fragrant mint, and Chef Mehta a refreshing Orange-Marcona Almond Salad With Pineapple Granita featuring juicy oranges, crunchy almonds and pineapple juice.

Now it’s time for you, Next Iron Chef fans, to channel your inner Simon Majumdar, Donatella Arpaia and Iron Chef Zakarian and judge which fruit salad reigns supreme. Would you prefer the classic combination of fruit featured in Chef Mendelsohn’s dish, or do you like the different textures that are offered in Chef Mehta’s offering? The vote is in your hands. Tell us whose pineapple salad gets your pick.

See below for detailed recipes and to purchase the cookbooks.

Orange-Marcona Almond Salad With Pineapple Granita

Serves 4
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups pineapple juice

8 small navel oranges, peeled, segmented, seeded, and chilled (or any other variety of orange, such as a blood orange)

1 cup unsalted Marcona almonds
1 tablespoon almond oil
1/2 cup microherbs

For the pineapple granita, heat the sugar and 1 cup of the pineapple juice in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Stir in the rest of the juice, and cool in an ice bath. Pour into a flat metal container such as a sheet tray, cover and freeze. Once it becomes solid, break it with a fork so that it becomes flaky. Re-cover and return to the freezer.

For the salad, in a large bowl, toss together the oranges with the almonds, almond oil and microherbs.

Serve on chilled plates with granita scattered around.

Recipe courtesy Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence by Jehangir Mehta With Christopher Kelly

Fresh Fruit Salad
Serves 4
2 cups seedless red grapes
2 cups seedless green grapes
2 cups diced Granny Smith apples
2 cups sliced kiwi
2 cups sliced banana
2 cups diced pineapple
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, or any thick, creamy, plain yogurt
4 tablespoons honey
1 cup chopped fresh mint
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 1 lemon

In a large bowl, combine the grapes, apple, kiwi, banana and pineapple. In another bowl, stir together the yogurt, honey, mint, cilantro and lemon juice until well combined. Pour over the fruit and gently toss without bruising the fruit. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy The Good Stuff Cookbook: Burgers, Fries, Shakes, Wedges and More by Spike Mendelsohn With Micheline Mendelsohn

Want to catch up on past Rival Recipe cook-offs? Voting is still open in the Iron Chef Italian Dish and Thanksgiving Showdowns.

Next Up

VOTE: A Next Iron Chef Sandwich Showdown — Rival Recipes

In this installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Next Iron Chef rivals Eric Greenspan and Alex Guarnaschelli compete in a sandwich showdown.

VOTE: A Next Iron Chef Strip Steak Showdown — Rival Recipes

In this installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Next Iron Chefs rivals Elizabeth Falkner and Tim Love compete in a strip steak showdown.

VOTE: An Iron Chef Italian Dish Showdown — Rival Recipes

Starting today and continuing each week, editors will present two chefs with their corresponding dishes in what's called Rival Recipes.

VOTE: An Iron Chef Caesar Salad Showdown — Rival Recipes

In this installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Geoffrey Zakarian compete in a Caesar salad showdown.

VOTE: A Next Iron Chef Lamb Cook-Off — Rival Recipes

In this installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Next Iron Chefs rivals Duskie Estes and Eric Greenspan compete in a lamb cook-off.

VOTE: A Next Iron Chef Canned Tomato Cook-Off — Rival Recipes

In this installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Next Iron Chef rivals Spike Mendelsohn and Elizabeth Falkner compete in a canned tomato cook-off.

VOTE: A Next Iron Chef Three-Way Bacon Cook-Off — Rival Recipes

In this installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Next Iron Chefs rivals Nate Appleman, Alex Guarnaschelli and Amanda Freitag compete in a bacon cook-off.

VOTE: A Next Iron Chef 3-Way Meatball Cook-Off — Rival Recipes

In this installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Next Iron Chef rivals Nate Appleman, Duskie Estes and Elizabeth Falkner compete in a meatball cook-off.

VOTE: An Iron Chef Thanksgiving Cook-Off — Rival Recipes

In the second installment of Food Network's Rival Recipes, Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Michael Symon go head-to-head in a Thanksgiving cook-off.

VOTE: The Next Iron Chef Secret Ingredient Bracket Challenge Finals

Vote for what you think was the hardest secret ingredient on the past four seasons of The Next Iron Chef.