Summer Fruit Salad

This summer fruit salad is a colorful and refreshing addition to your barbecue or brunch.  It’s drizzled with a light simple syrup and you can use any fruit of your choosing.  It’s also the perfect make ahead dish.

Over medium-high heat, boil orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, orange zest, and lemon zest.

Reduce heat to medium-low and allow the syrup to thicken slightly; about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and allow to cool.

Layer the fruit in a large, clear glass bowl in this order: pineapple, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bananas, oranges, grapes, and blueberries.

Pour the cooled syrup over the fruit.

Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.  Garnish with fresh mint, stir, and serve!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup fresh orange juice; I used the juice of 2 oranges
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice; 2 lemons
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups cubed fresh pineapple
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
3 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
3 bananas, sliced
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 cup seedless grapes
2 cups blueberries
Garnish: fresh mint leaves (I’ll bet fresh basil would also taste great.)

Instructions:

Bring orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, orange zest, and lemon zest to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.

Layer the fruit in a large, clear glass bowl in this order: pineapple, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bananas, oranges, grapes, and blueberries. Pour the cooled sauce over the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours and garnish with mint leaves before serving.

Recipe adapted from: The Pioneer Woman and Allrecipes.com