Fruit Salad w/Blood Orange Olive Oil & Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

I know that summer is getting closer when the fruit begins to outnumber the vegetables at my local produce market. Bins filled with large cantaloupes, containers stuffed with oversized blueberries, and ripe vibrant strawberries stare at me as I walk down the aisles.  I’m desperately looking for Arugula, but all I can see are gorgeous fruits begging me to take them home.

So, I do.

If I were to list the top five dishes I eat on a regular basis, fresh fruit would fight for the number one spot every time (next to fancy salads with figs and balsamic vinegars).  I love fruit.  I don’t think I’ve ever met a fruit I didn’t like (with the exception of star fruit…I haven’t tried it!) and I can always think of something to do with it.

But my favorite trick is a simple, vibrant fruit salad coated in a summer vinaigrette.  I’ve known many of my friends to serve fruit salads with a whipped cream glaze, masking the natural colors of the fruit, but sweetening the dish immensely.  These fruits salads are good, but I sometimes favor presentation over more sugary options.  Recently, I tried an amazing homemade vinaigrette–blood orange olive oil and blueberry balsamic vinegar and coated my fruit in this concoction.  I could not have happier with the rich, fresh fruit and the subtle hints of blood orange and blueberry as me and my guests ate it.

Fruit Salad w/Blood Orange Olive Oil & Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

This recipe is a standard fruit salad and can be made a variety of ways.  I prefer cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries, and fresh berries like blueberries or blackberries.  Some people add bananas to their fruit salad, but I find them to be a bit of a hassle (not only do they mash when mixing your fruit salad, but they also have very high oxidation indicators (i.e., they brown once exposed to the air).

Ingredients:

* 1 pineapple, cored and cubed

* 1 cantaloupe, seeded and cubed

* 1 cup blueberries

* 1 1/2 cups strawberries, de-stemmed and quartered

* 1 cup grapes (I prefer green)

* 2-3 tablespoons Blood Orange Olive Oil

* 2-3 tablespoons Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar

1.) Begin by prepping your fruit: core and cube pineapple, de-stem and quarter strawberries, seed and cube cantaloupe, and wash blueberries.

2.) Add ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

3.) In a separate smaller bowl, add balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Whisk to combine and pour over fruit mixture.  Toss fruit mixture lightly and transfer to serving bowl.  NOTE: because of the natural darkness of balsamic vinegar, you will see a certain darkened sheen over some of your fruit.  In fact, it may stain lighter fruits like the cantaloupe and pineapple.  This result is to be expected.

Serve by itself or with whipped cream or crème fraiche. Enjoy! Makes 8 servings.

–Helana Brigman