Pass the Winter Fruit Salad
Jason DeCrow, © 2016, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
First, choose your fruit.
Use citrus and other winter fruits to make a crowd-pleasing fruit salad, perfect for brunch. Start by selecting the fruit--we love blood oranges. Blood oranges taste less acidic than navel oranges, have a stronger flavor and scent and feature slight overtones of berries. Other seasonal varieties of oranges and grapefruit would also work great in this salad. You might also want to try sliced pears. All are at the peak of ripeness when the weather gets cold and add a brightness to any table--so take your pick!
Next, plate your fruit salad in a way that is practical and appealing.
When served in a bowl, the heavier fruits and toppings tend to sink to the bottom, creating a soggy mess that isn't appetizing. This is why using a platter is great! You can supreme your citrus and lay it out but we like to cut it into "wheels"--use a paring knife to peel away the skin and pith, then slice the fruit into rounds. The citrus can then be arranged in 1 layer on the platter.
Once the salad is plated, it's ready to get dressed.
A simple syrup of reduced orange juice with a dash of vanilla is the perfect complement to the fresh fruit. GZ's recipe is available on FoodNetwork.com.
To finish the citrus salad, we like to add texture.
Sprinkle the salad with chopped pistachios, walnuts, almonds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or pecans for texture. For delicious texture with added color and flavor, we recommend toasted coconut and pomegranate seeds.
