Do you still experience childhood food nightmares?
Me, too.
For me, the nightmare always begins with me prying open my battered metal lunch box. (Cue in the music from Jaws: Jaws.)
On the worst days, there would be a processed cheese sandwich with gloppy mayonnaise, a box of shriveled raisins, and a little metal container of canned fruit cocktail.
The fruit cocktail particularly stands out in my memory. You know–the fruit cocktail where all the fruits are so overcooked that they are indistinguishable one from the other.
Maybe it is just me but there is something seriously wrong when a cube of pear tastes exactly like a cube of peach. I remember picking out the cherries. They were the only good thing in the whole mess.
This Spicy Fruit Salad recipe will erase those bad memories of bad fruit cocktail. It showcases the fresh individual tastes of each fruit. When you bite into the fruits you can actually taste their differing textures, too. Then there is the spiced syrup where star anise and chile flavors are infused into a thick syrup sauce that is poured over the fruit. That syrup can be as spicy and as exotic as you want.
This is not your mother’s fruit cocktail. Promise.
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 C. granulated sugar
- 1 Serrano (or Jalapeno) Chile (halved)
- 1 Whole Star Anise
- 7 to 8 C. mixed fruit (I used blueberries, raspberries, nectarines and mangoes)
- 2 t. Chopped taragon
- 2 t. chopped basil
- Flaky sea salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (to taste)
- Mascarpone Cheese for garnish
- Chopped jalapenos for garnish
Instructions
- Simmer 3/4 C. water, chile and star anise for about 15 minutes. You want to create a spicy syrup with the consistency of maple syrup. You also want the star anise and the chile flavors to infuse the sugar syrup but, at this point, you can control how spicy you want your syrup to be by lengthening or shortening the cooking time. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Chill the syrup.
- Assemble your fresh fruits in a pretty bowl. Add half of the sugar syrup to your fruit mixture. (Add more to your taste.) Chop tarragon and basil and add to your salad. Season to your taste with salt and freshly-ground pepper.
- Garnish with chopped jalapenos and dollops of mascarpone.
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This recipe is adapted from a Melissa Clark recipe that appears here.
