1 Gingered navel oranges: Cut away the skin and white pith under it, allowing one orange per person. Slice the fruit crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and arrange on a serving plate or in an attractive bowl. Sprinkle with minced, candied or preserved ginger, using a tablespoon per orange.
2 Pineapple with black pepper: Arrange 2-3 rings of fresh pineapple per serving on a dessert plate. Grind fresh pepper over the fruit. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and serve.
3 Watermelon with chocolate: Run a knife between the flesh and the rind of a well-chilled wedge of watermelon. Cut the meat crosswise into thick slices. Pull alternating slices towards opposite sides of the wedge, staggering them. Grate dark chocolate over the melon slices, then sprinkle with a dash of ground cinnamon. Serve ice cold.
4 Blueberry yogurt parfait: Combine a pint of fresh blueberries with 1/4-cup dried blueberries. Place some berries in the bottom of a stemmed glass. Top with 2 tablespoons of low-fat lemon yogurt. Repeat, finishing with 2 tablespoons of yogurt dolloped over a layer of the mixed berries. If desired, sprinkle toasted sliced almonds over the top. Serves four.
5 Mango sorbet: Peel one medium mango per person. Freeze the fruit in a plastic bag. Let the bag sit at room temperature 20 minutes, then cut the partially defrosted fruit into chunks. Pulse in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add some fresh lime juice. Process until you have a velvety, thick sorbet. Spoon into dessert dishes and serve immediately.
6 Grapefruit in Apple-mint Jus: Steep two peppermint tea bags in 3/4-cup water, making a strong infusion. Discard the tea bags and cool. Peel and section two pink grapefruit, holding them over a bowl to catch all the juice. Squeeze the membrane to extract all its juice. Mix in the cool tea and two tablespoons apple juice concentrate.
Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to three days.
7 Amaretto apricots: Halve four large fresh apricots. Arrange the fruit in one layer in an oven-proof dish. Crush one amaretto cookie into the cavity of each apricot half. Moisten with a teaspoon of frozen apple juice concentrate. Bake at 350 F until fruit is soft but holds its shape, 25-30 minutes. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.
8 Brown sugar nectarines: Sprinkle one tablespoon of dark brown sugar over a large plate. Slice nectarines in half and arrange in one layer over the sugar, slices on their side. Sprinkle another tablespoon of brown sugar over the fruit. Cover with plastic and let sit until the sugar dissolves, forming a caramel-like syrup, about 30 minutes and serve.
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Recipes
Summer is the time of year to take advantage of the area’s fresh produce. Here are nine quick and easy recipes for fruit desserts.
Chocolate sorbet & raspberries: Place a scoop of chocolate sorbet in a dessert dish. Sprinkle with fresh raspberries and serve.
-Jacobi is a cookbook author for the American Institute for Cancer Research.
