Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: none

Ingredients:
60 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 passionfruits
1 large, ripe mango
1 large, ripe pawpaw
750 g pineapple
250 g fresh dates
12 lychees or rambutans
4 tablespoons rum
To decorate: a few cape gooseberries, optional

Method:
Put the sugar, cinnamon and cardamom into a small bowl and mix together well. Cut the passionfruit in half and scoop the pulp out into a bowl. Peel and slice the mango and the pawpaw. Skin, quarter and core the pineapple then dice the flesh. Halve and stone the dates, peel and stone the lychees or rambutans.

Put all of the prepared fruits into the bowl with the passionfruit pulp, sprinkle in the spiced sugar, pour in the rum and gently mix together. Cover and macerate the fruits in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Just before serving, transfer the fruits and the flavored juices to a serving bowl and decorate with the cape gooseberries, which should have their leaves pulled back. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
60 g (1/4 cup) white sugar
3 limes, well scrubbed under warm, running water
2 green dessert apples, washed
2 ripe, firm pears, washed
750 g green-fleshed galia or honeydrew melon
3 kiwifruit
250 g seedless green grapes, washed
To decorate: sprigs of fresh lemon balm, optional

Method:
Pour 500 ml of cold water into a small stainless steel or enamel saucepan and add the sugar. Pare the rind from the limes using a zester or peeler and add it to the pan. Stir over a moderate heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, then bring the sugar syrup to the boil and simmer it for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Squeeze the juice from the pared limes, stir it into the sugar syrup and then pour the flavored syrup into a large serving bowl. Working quickly, quarter and core the apples and slice them directly into the hot lime syrup. Then peel, quarter and core the pears and slice them into the syrup as well.

Cut the melon in half, remove the seeds and then either scoop out the flesh with a melon baller or cut it into cubes. Add the melon and any remaining juice to the bowl. Peel and slice the kiwifruit and add them to the fruit salad with the grapes. Stir the fruits together gently, cover the bowl and leave to chill for 1-2 hours before serving. Serve the salad at room temperature or slightly chilled, decorated with lemon balm, if using.

** Asian Online Recipes **