Tropical, Mexican-style and Middle Eastern: Ravinder Bhogal’s fruit salad recipes | Food

Most of our experiences with fruit salad are dull: straight out of a can in saccharine syrup or unripe, slippery, unidentifiable chunks hastily bought from a sandwich chain when you’re trying to be healthy. The best ones, however, are life-enhancing and made fresh at home. And, with summer offering up a bounty of ripeness, now is the best time to make them. Eat them sweet or savoury, heighten their flavour with floral waters, spices, aromats, herbs or citrus, and enjoy for breakfast, lunch or as a refreshing after-dinner treat.

Shaved mango and cucumber salad with Tajín and tequila dressing (pictured top)

Tajín is a mouth-puckering and addictive spice mix that’s often sprinkled over fruit; it makes an excellent rim for margaritas, too. If you can’t find it, mix a tablespoon of mild chilli powder, half a teaspoon of ground sea salt, a quarter-teaspoon of citric acid and the zest of one lime.

Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4

3 ripe mangoes, peeled
1 large cucumber
1-2 tbsp Tajín, or to taste

For the dressing
Juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp tequila
1 tbsp agave syrup
30g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
60ml avocado oil

Shave the mangoes and cucumber using a vegetable peeler, discarding the stones and seeds as you go, then arrange on a platter.

To make the dressing, blitz the lime juice, tequila, agave syrup and coriander in a blender, then slowly drizzle in the oil until emulsified. Drizzle the dressing over the shaved mango and cucumber, and toss to coat. Scatter with the Tajín and serve at once.

Tropical fruit salad with lemongrass, vanilla and ginger syrup

Make this the night before, to give the fruit time to soak up the flavours of the syrup. This is the type of fruit salad you can put into a large jar and take to a barbecue or picnic.

Prep 20 min
Cook 15 min
Chill 2 hr+
Serves 6

1 small pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into bite-sized pieces
½ honeydew or cantaloupe melon, peeled, deseeded and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 guavas, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
20 lychees, stoned
1 small papaya, cut into bite-sized pieces

For the syrup
4 tbsp golden caster sugar
8 makrut lime leaves
2 lemongrass stalks, bashed with something heavy
2cm piece ginger, peeled and sliced
1 vanilla pod
2 star anise
500ml water

Put all the cut fruit in a large bowl. To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the hob, leave to cool, then strain it over the fruit. Pop the bowl in the fridge for at least two hours and ideally overnight. This is wonderful served with ice-cream.

Labneh with watermelon, berries, rose and pistachio dukkah

Add rosewater with caution and to taste, because some brands are stronger than others – you’re looking for lightly perfumed rather than granny’s bath water here!

Prep 15 min
Drain 24 hr
Infuse 30 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 6

900g greek yoghurt
1 big pinch flaky sea salt
800g watermelon, peeled and cut into wedges, triangles or bite-sized pieces
125g strawberries, hulled and halved
125g raspberries
2 tsp rosewater

For the sweet dukkah
80g pistachios
40g pine nuts
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Zest of 1 large orange
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp runny honey
1 fat pinch sea salt

Line a deep bowl with muslin. Mix the yoghurt and salt, then scoop into the muslin, bring the edges of the cloth together to form a tight bundle and tie securely with string. Hang the bundle over the bowl and leave for 24 hours in the fridge. Much of the liquid will drain out and the remaining yoghurt will turn thick, dense and fudgy.

The next day, remove the labneh from its cloth packaging and use the back of a spoon to spread it over a platter. In a bowl, sprinkle the watermelon and berries with rosewater, then leave at room temperature to infuse for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dukkah. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. In a bowl, mix all the dukkah ingredients, then spread over a lined baking sheet and roast for eight to 10 minutes, until nutty and toasty. Leave to cool a little, then bash roughly in a mortar.

To serve, top the labneh with the watermelon and berries, drizzle over any juices from their bowl and sprinkle on the dukkah.