SENSATIONAL FIVE STAR FRUIT SALAD
Ingredients
• 1 sweet (fresh, frozen or canned) pineapple, peeled, cored, diced into small cubes
• 1 mango, peeled and sliced into thin strips (the pit is almond-shaped and sticks to the fruit, so just cut around it)
• 3 green anjou pears, cored and diced into small cubes (leave the peel on for color and fiber)
• 1 large ruby red grapefruit, segmented*
• Seeds of 1 pomegranate
Combine all fruit, or layer in a clear bowl, and dress with the following ingredients whisked together:
Juice of 5 limes and 3 Tbsp honey.
* To segment a citrus fruit, use a small, sharp knife to cut off each end. Then carefully cut down each side until all skin and white pith is removed, revealing only orange flesh. Then, cut inside each segment, removing from each a triangle of orange but leaving all fibrous white material. Discard the white remains.
Variations
Try adding or substituting melon — watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew and Persian are a few good ones.
Instead of mango, try papaya, cherimola, guava, peaches, or nectarines.
Instead of pear, try apple or quince. Quince tastes bitter when its raw, but when poached in a small amount of water until soft, its aroma and flavor are delicate and beautiful. Or, try the Asian pear, with a delicate flavor you won't believe.
Instead of the grapefruit, try one of many orange varieties — navels, clementines, tangerines and tangelos are a few. Or, try the exotic blood orange, with segments ranging from light yellow to deep red.
Instead of pomegranate, try ripe strawberries or raspberries for some bright red color. Or, for crunch, try passion fruit seeds. Passion fruit is a small, purple fruit that shrivels when ripe — don't use it before then.
Try cooking some of the fruits in such a way that highlights their flavor. For example, pineapple has even more flavor when it's roasted in a 375° oven, and begins to caramelize.
The same is true for apples and pears, when cooked on the stove in a little bit of water and sugar
Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 191, Fat 1g, Saturated Fat 0g, Calories from Fat 4%, Carbohydrate 49g, Cholesterol 0mg, Fiber5g, Sodium 4mg.
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