What are the best fruit salads to make in summer?
Sarah, Bradford, West Yorkshire
In the summer, fruit salads become the star of every meal. Luckily, berries, apricots, nectarines, melons, and other fruits work well in both sweet and savory recipes. According to Naz Hassan, the head chef at Pidgin in east London, peaches are a must-have ingredient in savory dishes. Peaches have the ability to enhance their flavor profile when seasoned with salt, and their soft flesh can absorb flavors excellently. A great example of a savory peach salad is Hassan’s tamarind-peach salad. To make this salad, he suggests sprinkling chopped peaches with salt to release their moisture. Then, make a dressing by soaking tamarind in lukewarm water for at least two hours, extracting the pulp, and seasoning it with salt and sliced bird’s-eye chillies. Combine the fruit with the dressing and top it with fresh mint, coriander, and thinly sliced ginger.
Laura Jackson, the chef and co-owner of Towpath cafe in London, recommends utilizing tomatoes and pickled melon to create a refreshing summer lunch with mozzarella. Start by salting the melon to eliminate excess moisture. Then, prepare a simple pickling liquor by combining 2 parts vinegar to 1 part sugar and pouring it over the melon. Seal the mixture and let it steep. Jackson suggests dressing chunks of the pickled fruit, tomatoes, and cheese with a little of the melon pickling liquor. To enhance the flavors, add fresh tarragon or basil and a drizzle of olive oil. According to Jackson, using the most delicious and ripest fruit is essential to achieve the best results without much effort.
Sarah could also try chaat, the preferred route suggested by Surender Mohan, the executive chef of Jamavar and Bombay Bustle in London. Chaat is a refreshing Indian-style fruit salad made with assorted fruits and flavored with chaat masala and other spices. Simply select fruits such as apples, bananas, grapes, pear, pomegranate, and boiled sweet potatoes. Add chaat masala, tamarind chutney, roast cumin powder, black salt, lemon juice, fresh mint or coriander, and a dash of sugar or honey. Toss the ingredients together and enjoy it cold.
For Hassan, the ultimate sweet summer fruit flavor has to be berries. He suggests adding a little salt and creating a dressing using equal parts lemon juice, honey, and basil oil (elderflower oil can be even better). Let the berries macerate in the dressing for about 10 minutes, and then pair them with peppery shortbread. To make the shortbread, follow any recipe and add nutmeg, equal quantities of long pepper, Timut pepper, black pepper, and Szechuan pepper. After baking, crumble the shortbread over the berries, and finish with whipped cream and basil leaves.
However, as with most things in life, simplicity often reigns supreme. Laura Jackson asks, “With so many delicious berries available, why complicate them? Just put them on a plate and enjoy them as they are.” There is no argument against that.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
