Once upon a time, we were having some friends over for dinner. These friends happen to follow a gluten free and vegan diet. What should I serve for dessert? I wondered, since eggs, flour, milk & cream were all out (thus eliminating my dinner party stand-by Pôts de Crème). The answer to my dilemma was clear: fresh fruit! A quick search on Tasty Kitchen provided this recipe, which suited my needs perfectly.

Adorned with a little syrup made with lime juice, honey, sugar, and mint, this fruit dessert is so simple and so fresh. And as soon as the gluten-free and vegan ‘component’ is no longer present, it would also be delicious scooped over ice cream.

Let’s go!

Ingredients

(Serves 6-8)

10 cups fresh seasonal fruit (berries, mangoes, kiwi, peaches, etc.)
3 TBS fresh lime juice
3 TBS chopped mint leaves
3 TBS honey
3 TBS brown sugar

Chop up the mint leaves . . .

. . . and squeeze out that fresh lime juice. My lime was pretty large, so I only needed one to get the 3 TBS of juice.

Combine the lime juice, honey, sugar, and mint to form the dressing.

Whisk it until it’s all combined.

Chop up the fruit:

The chunks of mango were my favorite part.

Berries are also in season, so I loaded ‘er up with blackberries and raspberries and strawberries.

Toss the fruit with the dressing . . .

. . . and serve!

We weren’t able to finish this the first night, and after the salad had spent 2 nights in the fridge I wondered if it would still be holding up okay. The juice from the berries had tinted everything a slight reddish color, but once I got past its appearance, my taste buds swooned. After marinating for a couple days, it’s even better. Each bite of mango was full of minty lime berry juice. I could have eaten 5 pounds of the stuff.

In another life in which I have the stomach of an elephant, of course.

Anyway, it’s the perfect dessert for the summer–no oven or stove involved.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Honey-Lime Fruit Salad