An Easy Fruit Salad Recipe
I, like many, love a good baked dessert. I have trouble turning down a slice of just about any type of pie. But, in the summer, no matter how buttery and flaky I think that pie crust will turn out, sometimes it is difficult to justify heating up the kitchen. Plus, in summer I have an innate drive to eat as much summer fruit as possible! Not a single apple will touch my lips. To make it more interesting, an easy fruit salad recipe is in order.
Come the end of August, I lament that I have not had enough peaches or plums and I miss the trickle of juice down my arm – the dash for the napkin is the same every year. I begin to miss the cherries and blueberries. Goodness, those fresh cherries are so good. I can never get enough. I feel bad about how quickly a pound of cherries can be eaten if put in front of me. Oh, and the blackberries! I can’t forget the blackberries. And, of course, the watermelon. An old buddy of mine when I was in college was from Cordele, Georgia – the watermelon capital of the world. We ate watermelon with reckless abandon in those days. I still do.
Before summer runs out, I always keep in mind the delicious opportunities a fruit salad can bring – every fruit salad is a no-cook dessert that I can create with as few or as many summer fruits as I like. Easy fruit salads are the improvisational theatre of the culinary world. They can be mixed on a whim, with whatever fruits you have on hand, with whatever fruits that pop into you head, with whatever fruits that are at the farmers market. Fruit salad is best done spontaneously, but there are always recipes worth trying. Here is a great recipe for an easy fruit salad. To dessert it up, a little mint whipped cream is in order. Of course, plain will do just fine, too!
- 1/2 galia melon
- 1 peach
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- 1/2 lemon
- 4 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- Fresh mint
- Toasted flaked almonds
- The day before, put the heavy cream in an airtight container with mint leaves and keep in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
- Use a melon baller to scoop out the half galia melon into a bowl.
- Wash and peel the peach and cut it in 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch dice and add it to the bowl. Wash the blueberries and the strawberries. Add the blueberries to the bowl.
- Remove the stems of the strawberries, cut them in 4 pieces and put them in the bowl with the melon, the peach and the blueberries.
- Squeeze the half lemon and add it to the mix. Add two tablespoons of sugar and mix carefully in order to avoid bruising the fruit. Set aside.
- Strain the heavy cream infused with mint and whip it with a beater or whisk. Add two tablespoons of sugar halfway through the whipping process. Be careful with the texture, as the whipped cream has to be soft and fluffy, not too stiff.
- In a bowl, serve the fruits and add a tablespoon of mint whipped cream on the side. Garnish with mint leaves and flaked almonds.
- Fruit salad has as many variations as you can imagine. You can replace any of the fruits for pear or watermelon pieces, or even orange segments. Using mango or fresh lychees will give it a more exotic touch.
- For an adult variation of the recipe, you can pour a dash of cointreau in the bowl when you add the lemon juice, it will enhance the flavors of the fruit.
- And if you want to add a personal touch to the recipe, you can replace the mint on the whipped cream with your favorite tea.
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
Do you love summer Fruits? Have any easy fruit salad recipes to share? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
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