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One of my favorite sides to serve family and friends is a simple, unadulterated fruit salad that's arranged in a pretty way. When it comes to presentation, good looks score big points! And, you don't have to buy fancy schmancy fruit to pull off a pretty fruit salad with success--even oranges and apples can be cut and arranged on a plate in an attractive way (when they are in season I'll make one and show you exactly what I mean). I find that if I cut up a piece of fruit in a way people aren't accustomed to, or mix in a small amount of an unlikely fruit, then people are more likely to eat it--this is surprisingly true for both children and adults alike! I'm also a big fan of dressing-free salads when it comes to fruit--I feel like any variety can stand on its own.
The above fruit salad was made in less than 5 minutes by combining a handful of Rainier cherries and white currants over a bed of blueberries. White currants are a special berry that is common in France, but not so much here in the US. I was really excited to spot a couple of baskets at a local grocery store and had to snatch one up! Have you ever spotted them where you live?
A few random notes on serving fruit:
1. Allow your fruit to ripen on your counter in a pretty bowl or on a plate. Once it's ripe, place the fruit in the fridge to chill; it doesn't matter if it's bananas, oranges, pineapple or cherries. For whatever reason, when fruit is cold it tastes sooo much better. When I'm prepping a meal, I'll often prepare the fruit first and then throw it in the fridge to chill while I finish up the rest of the food. I tend to press repeat on just about anything that's delicious, simple and make-ahead so we eat a lot of fruit...at least these days when it's so affordable!
2. Like vegetables to a frittata, you can pretty much grab whatever you have on hand and mix it together successfully. Don't spend a lot of energy thinking what works well together--pretty much anything goes!
image by Stephanie Brubaker for stephmodo
