Thursday, July 12, 2018

Fresh Fruit Salad With Custard

Fruit Salad W/Custard, Almonds, Hemp Hearts
I remember eating Fresh Fruit Salad with Vanilla Custard for the first time; tiny cubes of succulent tropical fruit nestled in a cool bed of smooth custard - Perfection! Although I don't recall all of the fabulous fruits except perhaps the mango, pineapple and grapes, my 13-year-old self was completely mesmerized by the lovely delight!
  
Fresh Fruit Salad is fabulous when there is an abundance of ripe fruit. Choose a variety of  fruits for their flavors, color and texture. Cut all large fruits into small dice; most small berries maybe left whole. It is a truly luxurious experience to enjoy a well prepared treat. Just like the chopped veggie salads - Cucumber-Tomato and Kale Bhel - everyone at our house adores a chopped fruit salad also - a labor or love, well worth the effort! 

Besides mango, pineapple, banana, and strawberries, also include watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, papaya, pomegranate, kiwi, grapes, pineapple, orange segments, peaches, apricots, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, and/or other beauties in season. Most fruits will work well - have fun with the many delicious choices.

Serve it as a breakfast, snack, or dessert. I love a big bowl for breakfast with plain unsweetened non-dairy yogurt instead of the custard and/or gluten-free granola on top. Leave out the custard and it can even be a starter! Most extra fruits maybe frozen and/or any leftovers maybe made into a smoothie!

I have not given amounts for the ingredients since the fruits vary according to seasonal availability, selection, and the number of servings one may wish to make. Allow about a cup of fruit (or more) per person; start with a few favorite fruits adding more as you go along to get the quantity as well as color, flavor, and texture you want.

Custard maybe made with other flavorings besides vanilla; we love almond too.

Fruit Salad pictured here is made with only 5 fruits as it was just for 2 servings; it can be quite simple or elaborate with many kinds.

Ingredients:

Assorted fruits
Vanilla Custard to serve - 1 Recipe, warm or cold
Toasted Almond slices for garnish (optional)
Other Nuts or Seeds
Extra fruit for garnish
Mint sprigs for garnish

Method:

Prepare the vanilla custard; it maybe served warm or cold. Use unflavored non-dairy milk and add your own flavorings like vanilla and/or almond for best results. If serving it cold, allow enough time for cooling the custard.

Spoon a little of the cold custard into the dishes and then place fruit on top. Warm custard maybe spooned over when ready to serve.

Dice the fruit into uniformly small cubes. Although it is fine to make a big bowl of fruit salad, I find that placing the fruit directly into individual bowl avoids crushing them. Divy up equal amounts of the fruit into the bowls as you go. 

Serve garnished with the almonds and mint sprigs. Enjoy!!
Fruit Salad W/Custard

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