Honey-Mint Macerated Fruit Salad with Lime and Toasted Pistachios

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Fruit salad treated like an actual dessert. A warm honey syrup is steeped with a big handful of mint, chilled, then sharpened with lime and poured over fruit added in stages so nothing turns to mush. Twenty minutes of maceration pulls juice out of the melon and berries and turns the whole bowl glossy. Toasted pistachios and torn mint go on at the table; a spoonful of cold whipped cream underneath makes it feel plated.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup honey, preferably a floral one like orange blossom or clover
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves and tender stems
• 2 strips lime zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

• 3 cups cubed ripe cantaloupe or honeydew (3/4-inch cubes)
• 2 cups cubed fresh pineapple (3/4-inch cubes)
• 2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered
• 1 cup seedless grapes, halved
• 2 medium ripe but firm peaches or nectarines, sliced into wedges
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup raspberries or blackberries
• 1 tsp finely grated lime zest

• 1/3 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup small mint leaves, torn at the last minute
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

• 3/4 cup heavy cream, very cold
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche or full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp honey

Instructions

1. Make the syrup: combine the 1/3 cup honey, 3 tablespoons water, lime zest strips, and pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring, just until the honey dissolves and the liquid steams and reaches a bare simmer, about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not let it boil hard or the honey will taste caramelized.
2. Pull the pan off the heat, add the cup of mint, and press the leaves under the surface with a spoon. Steep exactly 12 to 15 minutes — longer turns the mint grassy and bitter. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing gently on the leaves, then discard them. Stir in the lime juice and chill the syrup in the freezer for 10 minutes or the refrigerator for 20, until cool to the touch.
3. While the syrup steeps, toast the pistachios in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant and one shade darker, 3 to 4 minutes. Slide them onto a plate to cool so they stay crisp.
4. Cut the firm fruit: melon, pineapple, and grapes into even 3/4-inch pieces so a spoon can get one of everything in a bite. Put them in a large wide bowl, add the 1 teaspoon grated lime zest, and pour over about two-thirds of the chilled syrup. Toss gently with your hands or a wide spatula.
5. Let the firm fruit macerate at room temperature for 20 minutes, tossing once halfway. Juice will pool in the bottom of the bowl — that's the point; it becomes the sauce.
6. Add the peach wedges, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries and the remaining syrup. Fold no more than three or four times, lifting from the bottom, so the berries stay whole. Taste a spoonful of the pooled juice: it should be bright and just barely sweeter than the fruit. Add lime juice a teaspoon at a time if it tastes flat, or a drizzle more honey if the fruit is underripe.
7. If serving the cream, whip the cold heavy cream, crème fraîche, and 1 tablespoon honey with a whisk or mixer to soft, barely-holding peaks — it should slump when spooned.
8. Serve within 30 minutes. Spoon a pillow of cream into each shallow bowl, pile the fruit and plenty of juice on top, then scatter with toasted pistachios, torn mint, and the smallest pinch of flaky salt. Serve cool but not ice-cold, which mutes the fruit.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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