Throwback Fruit Salad

People don't really seem to make this at home anymore (though it made its appearance at many an 80s breakfast or brunch and remains a hotel lobby breakfast staple), but I find that even if it is a throwback, this fruit salad is an excellent addition to any brunch and exceedingly versatile. The base recipe is simple: seasonal fruit + syrup or juice + herb or chopped candied peel or ginger so I am not even going to bother to write one out below.

If you buy your own seasonal fruit and chop it up yourself this is a reasonable dish where your wallet is concerned. I got lucky and had both a coupon and a credit with my weekly shop so I splurged on some pre-cut fruit to make my morning a bit easier.

The fruit salad above is the fruit that you see in the photo, the blackberries tossed in some lavender simple syrup and the melon in some chili simple syrup about 30 minutes before it was time to serve the salad and then everything combined and chopped basil tossed through before being drizzled with some lemon juice.

Mint is delicious in fruit salad and tarragon is an excellent and unexpected addition, especially with melon dominant fruit salad. If making the salad in the winter with apples, pears and bananas, I highly recommend either a cinnamon simple syrup or some of the syrup from a jar of candies ginger and some chopped rosemary.

No matter the combination, let's bring fresh fruit salad back to the brunch table.