How can I make fruit salads more interesting?
Claire, via email
There’s a fine line between a boring and brilliant fruit salad, and it comes down to treating it like you would any other salad. “It’s about layering, it’s about texture, it’s about contrast, it’s about colour,” says Gurdeep Loyal, author of Flavour Heroes. That’s not to say it’s the time to be a maximalist, mind. “If you go for six fruits, then you get into the tinned fruit cocktail territory, so be discerning and use a magic triad instead,” he adds, “although don’t feel the need to use a playground mix of colours.” Sometimes it’s nice to have, say, three red things, so keep it in the family with a mix of strawberries, raspberries and a hybrid berry, like tayberries. That said, Loyal is of the strong opinion that “any fruit salad in the world” will greatly benefit from the addition of passion fruit.
Using nice, ripe fruit is a given, but it’s worth considering how you cut it, too : “A persimmon sliced on a mandoline, for example, is a really lovely thing.” Then, season with salt. “It’s the one thing people don’t do enough,” Loyal adds, although a pinch of brown sugar wouldn’t go amiss, either. And it’s hard to deny the transformative power of spices: “Cinnamon works incredibly well with berries; cardamom with tropical fruit; or try more savoury spices like cumin with mango or pineapple.” It would be a mistake to just stick to the spice rack, though: “Grating ginger on strawberries or mango (with a pinch of cinnamon and some lime, of course) will bring heat, as will freshly grated turmeric.”
Then, there’s chilli, either a dusting of dried powder or flecks of the fresh stuff. “One of my favourite ways with watermelon is a sprinkle of aleppo pepper and grated frozen feta,” says Sabrina Ghayour, author of Persiana One, although cantaloupe with pul biber, feta and torn basil is pretty good, too. But for extra oomph, Loyal is partial to hot chilli honey: “Put honey in a pan with finely diced chilli and a pinch of salt, let it infuse for five minutes, then use that to drizzle over mango and strawberries.”
Herbs (torn, never cut) are another must: “Basil and tarragon have an amazing ability to amplify flavour,” says Loyal, and are just as good with berries as tropical fruit and melon. Otherwise, Ghayour combines coriander with peaches, pineapple or mango (plus, chilli, onion and lime juice) for salsa, to serve alongside grilled meat or seafood.
Just like any salad, you’ll then want a dressing. “This could be citrus and a bit of honey or maple, a drizzle of olive oil, or just the juice that collects at the bottom of the bowl once you’ve salted it,” says Loyal. Although, as is so often the case, a tablespoon of alcohol always helps: “Try vodka with lime juice, a little maple syrup, and a pinch of cinnamon.”
Last, don’t be shy when it comes to texture: Loyal deploys a topping of toasted peanuts or pine nuts, dukkah, or sesame seed brittle for crunch. And make it beautiful. “You don’t need to add petals,” says Loyal – “but also why not?”
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