Basil-Lime Fruit Salad

Also in this week's farm box was a mystery melon.

The farm said we were either getting watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, or Galia. The interior of this melon is green, so it's either honeydew or Galia. The exterior doesn't look like anything I know, though. Regardless, it's delicious. I sliced it open, chopped it up, and added it to some cubed pineapple, mango and canteloupe for a fruit salad in the morning.

Now, I agree that fruit salad is delicious in and of itself. But sometimes, on special occasions, I like to dress it up. My favorite so far is the Basil-Lime Fruit Salad from Cooking Light magazine (March 2008).

Make a simple syrup of equal parts sugar and water. Remember -- don't make too much of this stuff. In application, a little goes a long way. Here, I've made a syrup from 1/2 c water and 1/2 c sugar.

Bring to a boil and let sugar dissolve, about one minute. Remove from heat.

Grate lime rind. I find the simplest way to make grated citrus rind is to use a vegetable peeler and then, to throw your strips of rind into a coffee/spice grinder. You may wind up with a bit of pith in your rind, but it's a lot easier, faster and safer than using a paring knife, grater or even a zester.

Add basil and lime rind to your simple syrup and let cool.

Strain syrup and you have your dressing! Only pour over the fruit salad once you are ready to serve.

Obviously, you are not limited to the fruits listed in the Cooking Light recipe. I used the fruit mentioned above because it is what I had on hand. Bananas would also be good, but don't prepare them until ready to serve.

Farm box ingredients used: melon, basil

Comments

Unknown said…

I remember this from my last visit. Yummy and unique.

September 2, 2009 at 9:16 PM

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