Savoury Fruit Salad
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My book Tenderheart is available from Books are Magic, Kitchen, Arts and Letters, Book Larder, Bold Fork Books and also here or here.
Can we eat fruit salad for dinner?? Read on.
Since returning from our travels, my appetite has been predominantly fruit dependent. The bananas from my local store are delicious right now - this daughter of a banana monger has exacting standards - so I usually start the day with one, and then grab another as a snack later on. Then I move onto the plums and nectarines which I will snack on throughout the day. I bought a punnet of plumcots the other day and they were just perfect - firm yet sweet. I gorge a bowl of cherries. I cut up a rockmelon (cantaloupe) for me and the kids. This is the cadence of my daily diet right now.
I have been ruminating about a fruit salad that felt acceptable for dinner. I opened my Notes app (where I typically record most of my ideas ) and typed out savory fruit salad.
So here we are.
To count fruit salad for dinner, I would need a savory element. The other night, while dining at a local Italian restaurant, my family enjoyed a plate of prosciutto, melon and burrata and at the end, there was an abandoned piece of honeydew, along with a small bowl of balsamic dressing. I dipped the fruit into the balsamic and my tastebuds exploded. The dark, caramel-like sweetness of the vinegar was a compelling counter to the juicy blitheness of the melon. There was my first savory element.
Cheese like feta or burrata is an obvious choice for a savory addition. I chose to keep it light - and vegan - and went with olives instead, which also adds a satisfying pickly component. Any variety will work, but I particularly like the buttery bite of green Castelvetrano olives.
My savory salad is not really a recipe but more of a template. You can use any fruit you like - except for bananas ? - but I think melons and stone fruit work best for their robust texture and sweetness. Use the quantities provided in my recipe as a guide for a savory fruit salad that will feed about four not-too-hungry people. Scale up or down as needed. If you need something to pad it out, I suggest bread, veggie sausages, corn on the cob, hash browns, another salad, a sandwich. This is a very random list I know - I guess what I’m trying to convey is, anything goes.
I think my recipe next week - a very unique cold soup - would go perfectly with this savory fruit salad. Stay tuned for that.
The essential element of this recipe is the balsamic - or if you don’t have that specifically, another sweet vinegar like sherry or fruit vinegars. It’s the balsamic which pushes this salad to mind boggling status. The sweetness, the tartness, and the acidity, all challenge with the freshness of the fruit, revealing a complexity that you didn’t know peach or plum or watermelon had.
COOK / EAT / SHARE
SOME NEWS: This week, I learnt that Tenderheart is a finalist in the IACP Awards, in the General Cooking category. I’m so thrilled that vegetables are getting recognition in the main meal category - it has always been my belief that vegetables are for everyone, not just vegetarians and vegans. The winners will be announced in late September - wish me luck!
UK NEWS: Last week, Tenderheart was finally published in the UK. While the book was available previously, it was the US edition which doubled as the ‘international’ edition. But my new UK publisher Bluebird has now brought Tenderheart to the UK market and hopefully you’ll be seeing it at more stores. Buy here.
NEW RECIPES
There’s a new cold tomato-centric dish over at NYT Cooking - it mashes up gazpacho with kimchi in a punchy chilled soba noodle soup. This cold tomato and kimchi soba noodle soup is a stunner.
There’s also a fresh pasta salad which uses pureed tomatoes and basil to make a dressing. It’s fragrant and fruity and the recipe is here.
WINTER RECIPE IDEAS
Some recipe suggestions for those where it’s cooler:
Carrot, brie and hot honey tart
Shaved brussels sprouts, orange, feta and smoky pecan crumbs
Honey Glazed mushrooms with udon
A REMINDER FOR NEW YORK
I will be speaking with Priya Krishna at James Beard Foundation Platform on September 18 at 6.30pm. Bites from Tenderheart will be served and there will be books for sale. It has been a while since I have done a signing, but I’d love to see you. Tickets are available here and use discount code chefsept10 for 10% discount.
🥦 My cookbook, Tenderheart is for cooking vegetables, all year round. Pick up your copy here. It is also mostly vegan (or vegan-izable) and gluten-free adaptable.
THIS WEEK’S RECIPE
Savoury Fruit Salad
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To vegetables, With Love 2024
Serves 4-6
1 rockmelon (cantaloupe), watermelon or honeydew (or a combo of them), cut into chunks or slices
3-6 plums, peaches, nectarines or apricots (or a combo of them), cut into slices or chunks
1 - 2 cups cherries, seeds removed and torn in half
1/2 - 1 cup green or black olives, seeds removed and sliced
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and black pepper
parsley or basil leaves, torn
Combine the fruit on a large platter or on individual serving plates. Top with olives and then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and black pepper and finish with parsley or basil leaves.
The salad is fine to hang around a while too. Eat at room temperature or cold.
To Vegetables, With Love is my love letter to vegetables and it is a joy to bring you a new recipe every week. Thank you to everyone who subscribes, especially to paid subscribers who make this work possible.
I’m intrigued by olives in fruit salad. Can’t wait to try it!
I also get to learn to dip strawberry into balsamic vinegar, and it is such a refreshing taste - with so many flavours. Thanks for the wonderful savoury fruit salad recipe. Would you recommend any other vegan ingredient than olives? Thanks!