Pretty, Yummy Fruit Salad

 

I think you’ll love this colorful, pretty fruit salad, which is drizzled with a lovely orange-vanilla syrup, which glosses it up and makes it visually irresistible, which makes you want to stand over the bowl and slurp up every single bite, which won’t leave any for your brunch guests.

So logic would probably tell you not not to make it.

But I think you should go ahead and chance it! It’s that good. Slightly citrusy, nice and sweet, with a little hint of vanilla lusciousness. So simple to make, and you can use any fruit you want—melon chunks, orange pieces, apples, pears…the works. And it’s perfect not just for Easter brunch, but for baby or wedding showers, special lunches…or just a weekday that calls for a beautiful bowl of color.

Here’s how to make it, Maynard!

Sorry I called you Maynard again.

Next year I’ll give it up for Lent. Promise.

Add sugar and water to a small saucepan…

Then zest a juicy orange and add the zest to the pan…

 

Then cut the orange in half…

And squeeze the juice into the pan.

Slice two vanilla beans in half…

Then scrape out the caviar inside…

And add it to the saucepan. Yum!

(Note: You can just add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract if you don’t have vanilla beans. Still delicious!)

Stir it around and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer the syrup for a good 15-20 minutes, until it’s thickened a bit. After that, put the pan in the fridge to cool the syrup completely (or transfer the syrup into a little pitcher or bowl.) You want the syrup to be cold when you pour it on the fruit.

(You can make this the night before you need it!)

When you’re ready to assemble the fruit salad, wash all the fruit you want to use. Anything colorful and gorgeous-looking will do.

I did a bunch of strawberries…

And threw them into a big bowl.

Then halved a bunch of red grapes…

 

And threw them in with the strawberries.

 

Then did the same with green grapes, because they matched the bowl. And this is very important. Not really.

Blueberries sounded good, too!

 

Pour half of the cold syrup over the top…

 

Then toss the fruit gently to coat it in the rest of the syrup as you drizzle it in. You can’t really see it in the photos, but the tiny flecks of vanilla bean really make this look special.

Simply gorgeous!

But fresh mint makes it…

Well, simply gorgeous-er.

Hope you’re having a wonderful Holy Week, guys.

Here’s the handy dandy printable:

Recipe

Fruit Salad

Prep Time:

20 Minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Cook Time:

20 Minutes

Servings:

12 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• Juice Of 1 Orange
• Zest Of 1 Orange
• 2 whole Vanilla Beans, Caviar Scraped Out (or 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract)
• 4 pints Strawberries, Hulled And Halved
• 2 pints Blueberries
• 2 cups Red Grapes, Halved
• 2 cups Green Grapes, Havled
• Mint Leaves

Instructions

Place the sugar, water, orange juice and orange zest into a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 to thicken slightly. Set aside to cool, then store in the fridge until cold.

Mix together all the fruit in a large bowl and pour the syrup over the top, tossing gently. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.