Summer Fruit Salad

When the summer fruit is this good, treat yourself to an indulgent yet healthy dish that hits all the right sweet, slightly savory, and tangy notes. Champagne vinegar is my preferred way to brighten up a mix of stone fruit, buttery avocado and mango, and blackberries. With its delicate, crisp flavor, it lends just the right amount of acidity. Torn basil leaves add an herbaceous quality. Then I finish it with beautiful sea salt flakes. All the flavors benefit from that little touch. After all, summer is better with a reminder of the sea.

Ingredients

2 large nectarines
2 apricots
⅓ pound cherries
¾ cup blackberries
1 mango
1 avocado
Handful fresh basil leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
Champagne vinegar
Generous pinch of sea salt flakes

This recipes yields about 6 servings

How to Cut Stone Fruit

For the nectarines, apricots, and cherries in this plant-based recipe, begin by finding the most stable part of each fruit to set on the cutting board. Insert a knife through the center of the fruit gently until you hit the center stone. Rotate the knife carefully around the stone then twist the halves until they separate. Remove the pit. Slice the nectarines and apricots into about ½-inch wedges or desired thickness. Leave the cherries halved.

Alternately you can cut the fruit being mindful of the center stone and simply slicing around it, which I find works well for nectarines particularly. Cherries can also be pitted with the one specialty tool I often prefer to use known as a cherry pitter.

How to Cut a Mango

Choose a ripe mango that has a sweet scent and gives when gently squeezed. In the center, you will find a large pit. Make a long vertical slice on each side of the mango, coming as close to the pit as possible but without cutting through it. You should have two curved pieces. Take a small knife and cut a crosshatch pattern into the flesh. Cut right up to the outer skin without cutting through it. Run a skin between the flesh and the peel to scoop out the cubes.

How to Cut an Avocado

Since the avocado will be first to brown, I chop and add this right before serving. I also prefer to scatter it around the salad versus toss it in with the fruit so it does not become mashed.

In the same way as the stone fruit, use a knife to cut through the center of the avocado until you reach the center pit.  Maintain contact with the pit while running the knife around the avocado to release the 2 halves.  At this point you can take a small knife and cut a crosshatch pattern into the avocado flesh being careful not to cut through the outer skin. Then take a spoon and run it between the flesh and skin to scoop out the cubes.

How to Prepare the Fruit Salad

Combine the blackberries with the sliced nectarines, apricots, and cherries plus your preferred amount of torn basil. Drizzle with olive oil and champagne vinegar to taste and toss gently. Fold in the mango cubes then plate. Scatter avocado and drizzle with a bit more oil and vinegar as desired. Finish with a generous pinch of sea salt flakes. Serve at room temperature.

If you love stone fruit, try this nectarine sorbet for a delicious vegan dessert.