Honey-Mint Fruit Salad with Lime Syrup and Whipped Ricotta

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A fruit salad built like a real dessert: honey gently warmed with a handful of bruised mint and lime zest, cooled into a fragrant syrup, then poured over fruit cut and added in stages so the melon stays crisp and the berries stay whole. A spoonful of whipped ricotta underneath turns it from a side dish into something you'd order at the end of a meal. Thirty minutes of macerating is all it needs.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup honey, preferably a light floral one like clover or orange blossom
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves and tender stems
• 2 tsp finely grated lime zest (from about 2 limes)
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 3 cups cubed ripe cantaloupe or honeydew (3/4-inch cubes)
• 2 cups quartered strawberries, hulled
• 2 ripe peaches or nectarines, pitted and cut into thin wedges
• 1 cup seedless red or black grapes, halved
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup raspberries or blackberries
• 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced into half-moons (optional)

• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 3 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
• 10 fresh mint leaves, stacked and thinly sliced
• flaky sea salt, for finishing
• lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the syrup first so it has time to cool. Combine the honey, water and a pinch of fine sea salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Warm just until the honey loosens and the mixture is steaming and fluid, about 2 minutes — do not let it boil, which dulls the honey's flavor.
2. Slap the cup of mint between your palms a few times to bruise it and release the oils, then stir it into the warm honey along with the lime zest. Take the pan off the heat, cover, and steep 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing firmly on the mint to extract every drop, then discard the mint. Stir in the lime juice and refrigerate until cool, about 10 minutes (or set the bowl in a shallow ice bath for 3 minutes).
3. While the syrup steeps, toast the pistachios in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant and lightly colored, 3 to 4 minutes. Slide them onto a plate to cool, then chop coarsely.
4. Prep the sturdy fruit: cube the melon, halve the grapes, and slice the peaches and kiwi. Add all of it to a large wide bowl. Cut the strawberries last so they don't weep.
5. Pour about two-thirds of the cooled syrup over the melon, grapes, peaches and kiwi. Fold gently with a rubber spatula, then let macerate at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, folding once halfway through. The fruit will release juice and the syrup will thin into a light, drinkable liquid.
6. Make the whipped ricotta while the fruit sits: in a bowl, beat the ricotta, heavy cream, 1 tablespoon honey and the vanilla with a hand mixer on medium-high for 60 to 90 seconds, until noticeably smoother and lighter. Chill until serving.
7. Just before serving, add the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries and fold no more than three or four times — the berries should stay intact and unstained. Drizzle over the remaining syrup and taste; if the fruit is very sweet, add another squeeze of lime.
8. Spoon a generous swoosh of whipped ricotta into shallow bowls, pile the fruit and its juices on top, and finish with the toasted pistachios, sliced mint and a few flakes of sea salt. Serve immediately, with lime wedges alongside.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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