I came to The Farmer’s Daughter produce market in Loxahatchee for sweet corn, but found longans instead. They were small, pebbly, brown, $3.50 a pound and I’d never seen them before. The woman behind the counter grabbed one, pierced it with her fingernail and popped it in her mouth

I was intrigued, and when I tried one of the delicious ovals, I was instantly smitten with the fruit. I snacked on them the entire drive back to West Palm Beach.

With a white flesh, an almost grape-like taste, and a small black seed in the center, they look a lot like, well, eyeballs. In fact, the longan, a delicacy in Chinese cookery, is named for its likeness to a dragon’s eye. Many equate the taste to lychees.

But with a skin that is easily removed with a fingernail or knife or by twisting, the prep time for longan-based dishes is not daunting.

The first night, I created a salad with chicken, radicchio, macadamia nuts and mint. But while it photographed beautifully, I didn’t love the recipe enough to share. Perhaps my dressing wasn’t quite right – or the radicchio was too bitter. I ate it, but I didn’t love it.

So the next afternoon, I set out, intent on creating the perfect poolside cocktail.

A quick trip to Total Wine (is there really such a thing?) yielded a bottle of Soho Lychee Liqueur, a delicious and sweet elixir I thought might add depth to my summery cocktail.

Back home, I muddled ½ cup of longans to extract about ½ ounce juice. Then I combined the juice and the liqueur with one ounce of vodka.

The drink – though quite strong – was just perfect to sip poolside. It’s also a fantastic cocktail base: on the second glass, I topped it off with peach juice for a delicious — and slightly less dangerous — results.

You could easily add ice and blend it up for a frothy masterpiece. And of course, garnish each drink with as many longans as you like. Because I’m thoroughly smitten with them, I average about five longans per drink.

Cheers!

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LONGAN MARTINI

1 cup peeled longans

4 ounces Lychee Liqueur

1 ounce Vodka

Place 5 peeled longans in a martini glass. Muddle remaining longans in a bowl, or process them in a food processor or blender.

Measure out ½ ounce to 1 ounce of the juice, depending on how intensely flavored you’d like your drink.

In a cocktail shaker, add juice to lychee liqueur and vodka over ice. Shake until cold.

Pour into martini glass and sip away!

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Found: Longans at The Farmer’s Daughter Produce Market

Where: Inside The Farmer’s Daughter Garden Center, at 13415 Southern Boulevard, Loxahatchee

What: Fresh longan fruit

Price: $3.50/pound

Use it: As a snack, in a drink, in a salad, or as an inspiration for Asian dishes.