This tempting Italian fruit salad is enhanced by a sweet basil syrup. It’s a perfect dessert for picnics on hot summer days
Italians almost always end a meal with fruit. Desserts tend to be saved for special occasions.
Normally for a picnic, the custom is to bring a piece of fruit, often a watermelon, which is left to cool in the waters of a stream along with a couple of bottles of wine.
That said, Italians love their macedonia (fruit salad), and so, in my opinion, this dish satisfies both the healthy custom of finishing a meal with fruit and that sense of special occasion Italians get when they eat a dessert.
While usually associated with savoury dishes, many herbs also work well in sweets. Sweet basil-infused syrup goes perfectly with fruit, as does mint.
Other combinations that I’ve found include lemon and basil, and lime and mint.
Whichever you opt for, make sure the syrup is properly chilled well in advance.
Mixed Fruit Salad with Basil Syrup | Macedonia con sciroppo al basilico
➤ Serves: 4
➤ PREPARATION: 15 minutes
➤ COOKING: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 500ml water
- 100g caster sugar
- A handful of fresh basil leaves
- 250g fresh strawberries, washed, chopped
- 125g fresh raspberries
- 125g fresh blueberries
- 2 ripe bananas, peeled, chopped
- 2 ripe kiwis, peeled, chopped
- The juice of ½ a lemon
Method:
- To make the basil syrup, pour the water into a saucepan and add the sugar and basil leaves. Simmer very gently for around 10 minutes. Strain the liquid to remove the basil leaves, then leave to cool. Once cooled, place in the fridge to chill.
- Place the strawberries along with the raspberries, blueberries, banana and kiwis into a large bowl. Squeeze over half a lemon to stop the fruit, especially the banana, from discolouring, then stir gently together.
- When ready to serve, spoon the fruit directly into cups or bowls and top up each dish with the chilled basil syrup.
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Words and recipe by Mario Matassa