Fruit Salad Buffet Recipes

BRUNCH FRUIT SALAD

Steps:

• Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Combine the pineapple, bananas, grapes, oranges and apples in a large bowl; set aside. , In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add the orange juice, lemon juice and reserved pineapple juice; stir until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Pour over fruit; mix gently. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

FRUIT AND BROCCOLI BUFFET SALAD

Steps:

• Beat grapeseed oil, sugar, cider vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, garlic, salt, poppy seeds, paprika, and mustard together in a bowl with a whisk until smooth and creamy.
• Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Toast pecans in hot skillet, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes.; spread onto a cutting board to cool completely before chopping.
• Toss orange sections, broccoli, apple, and grapes together in a bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss gently to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 2 to 6 hours.
• Sprinkle chopped pecans over salad.

FRESH FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• I like to begin the platter with a base of ripe, colorful, sliced melons and pineapple--for example, cantaloupe, honeydew, Galia, or Cavaillon melons, plus the new "golden" pineapples. Peel the outside of a whole melon, cut it in half through the stem end, and scoop out the seeds. Place the melon halves cut side down on a board, and slice them straight across into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Fan each half-melon out slightly and arrange it on the platter. Next, cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple, peel the outside, and use a sharp knife to remove the "eyes." Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and remove the core by cutting a "V" down the center of each half. Again, place the pineapple halves, cut side down, on a board and slice them straight across into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Fan the slices out and arrange them next to the melon on the platter.
• Once the base is set, you can add any kind of fruit that's available. I like to have one thing that is taller than the rest, such as a large bunch of grapes or a decoratively cut papaya, to give the platter height. Then I add raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and fresh figs in casual but organized groups. The platter can look like a bowl of M&M's if there are too many colors scattered with no order. Visually, your eye needs to have a focal point and to be able to see each type of fruit. After all the fruit is arranged, I add flat green leaves around the outside of the fruit, to set off the colors. Use lemon and galax leaves from your florist, or fig leaves and grape leaves from your garden. Make sure they are pesticide-free and well washed.
• Any kind of fruit will work well on this platter. For special occasions, add persimmons, kiwi, passion fruit, Queen Anne cherries, fresh apricots, and mangos. Choose whatever is colorful and seasonal.

PERFECT SUMMER FRUIT SALAD

Steps:

• Bring orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, orange zest, and lemon zest to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.
• Layer the fruit in a large, clear glass bowl in this order: pineapple, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bananas, oranges, grapes, and blueberries. Pour the cooled sauce over the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

FRUIT SALAD BUFFET

Steps:

• Decorate the tray with sprigs of lemon mint. Flank in with bowls of the various dressings. Let each guest compile a salad with dressing of his own choosing. With this you might serve date-nut sandwiches filled with cream cheese, hot cheese or herb biscuits, Melba toast, buttered scones, garlic bread.

FRUIT SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare the fruit with a small serrated knife. Cut the top and bottom off the kiwi, stand it up on one of its flat surfaces and cut away the skin, keeping the knife as close to the skin as possible. Slice in half, following the core through the centre, then cut each half into slices. Put in a bowl and repeat with the other kiwi.
• Carefully cut the skin off the mango and slice off each cheek, running your knife as close to the stone as you can. Cut each piece into slices. Remove any remaining fruit from the stone in long thin slices. Add the mango to the kiwi.
• Top and tail the pineapple, then in a similar way to the kiwi, cut away the skin. Use your knife to go around the pineapple, taking out the divets or eyes, two to three at a time, you'll be left with a spiral pattern weaving around the outside of the fruit. Take of a circular slice, roughly 150g, quarter, remove the core then cut into chunks. Add to the bowl.
• Halve the grapes and add to the rest of the fruit along with the berries, you may want to slice or halve strawberries if they're large. Remove the peel from the orange using the same method as the kiwi and pineapple. Holding the orange over the bowl of fruit, remove the orange segments by carefully cutting between the membrane and the fruit. The pieces should fall out into the bowl along with any juice. Squeeze the membrane over the fruit to extract the juice, add a drizzle of honey, if you like. Mix everything together and leave in the fridge to macerate for 30 mins, if you have time.