FRUIT SALAD WITH SECRET DRESSING

There is nothing as fresh and sweet as a fruit salad in a summer afternoon. We love to make carne asada on the grill when the heat finally arrives to Chicago. We enjoy the afternoons in the backyard with the kids.

As you might know Carne asada is not just about carne, is about guacamole, frijoles charros, salsa, tortillas, and by the end of the meal, of course, there is always space for dessert.

But lets make it a sweet, fresh light dessert… Fruit salad is the way to go!

I love this recipe, is super simple and it has a secret ingredient that will make it shine with the sun, keep it light and still adding some extra sweetness to it. A light syrup to go with the fruit salad, not that sweet not that sour.

I try this light version of fruit salad at my baby shower. We had just moved to the neighborhood when I got pregnant with Oscar. My dear neighbors which I adore organized me a baby shower. I hope they know how special it was for me.

Here is the thing. I have no family around. My parents and my younger sister live in Mexico and my other sister lives in California so I was not having a baby shower. I do not have many friends and I was way too tired between work, a new house, and a 3-year-old little Jorge to be organizing something.

They made a jackpot and brought all sorts of food and gifts. The fruit salad was definitely the star at the table. it looked fresh, colorful, sweet, and shinny!

While we were eating we were trying to guess what was the secret dressing that made that fruit salad a little extra sweet and super delicious.

The secret was hard to guess but super easy to get! The fruit salad had a whole can of peaches in syrup! It was the perfect and easiest dressing. The syrup as well as flavor gives the fruit some really pretty shine and texture and it really helps to accent the fruit natural flavor.

WHAT FRUITS SHOULD I COMBINE

The first thing is to decide which fruits you are going to use. The secret is how you combine the flavors of the fruits.

Remember that there are fruits with citrus flavors such as orange, tangerine, other sweets such as melon and banana, other bitters such as strawberries and nectarine. The perfect recipe for fruit salad is to combine citrus and bitter flavors with sweets such as a banana with strawberries or pineapple with melon or grapes. Strike a balance between flavors.

For this recipe I chose the following ingredients:

INGREDIENTS FOR FRUIT SALAD

Makes 8 to 10 servings

• 2 cups of strawberries
• 2 kiwis
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup of green grapes
• 3/4 cup Blue Berries
• 1 can of peaches in syrup

HOW TO PREPARE

1. Cut fruits the size they fit in a bite into your mouth. I suggest cutting the strawberries into 4 parts. Grapes it is very important that if you have children, cut them in two or three parts. Kiwi fruit pill and then sliced, do the same with the bananas.
2. Mix all the fruits except the banana.
3. Add the peaches in syrup along with the syrup and mix.
4. Place the banana in slices and mix lightly.
5. Enjoy!

FRUIT SALAD RECIPE FOR A PARTY

This version is perfect for the 4th of July, a baby shower, a birthday party, or as a dessert for your next barbecue or carne asada. I also have the recipe for Mexican fruit salad.

IS IT HEALTHY TO EAT?

Like everything, the answer is in moderation. The fruit salad is made with natural ingredients but the versions with cream or condensed milk greatly increase the sugar and the number of calories.

This version with syrup is more moderate in sugar but still for people with diabetes or wanting to keep the figure the correct portion would be 3/4 cup.

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WHAT TO DO SO THAT A FRUIT SALAD DOES NOT TURN BAD?

Delicious, fresh, and brilliant … yes, 4 hours after ready. After that get ready to find a languid fruit broth. Fruits decompose rapidly and lose water even more rapidly in the presence of liquid or other fruits than themselves.

So that the fruit salad lasts longer and fresh, here are some tips that can serve you.

• Prepare the salad shortly before eating it.
• If you have to take it to a meeting and it has to last longer in the fridge or overnight, separate each species of fruit in a container with a paper towel on the bottom. This will help keep the fruit fresh even after they have been cut. Mix the ingredients shortly before when you have to serve them.
• Don’t add the dressing until just before serving the salad.