Froot de la health

Olive and Peppers Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ripe olives
• 1 red bell pepper (chopped into 1/4-inch cubes)
• 2 capsicums (cut in roundels)
• 1 cucumber (seeds removed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes)
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup garlic-infused with olive oil
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Method

• In a medium bowl, toss olives, lemon juice and make vinaigrette.
• In a plate, arrange roundels of capsicum, sprinkle lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Right before serving, pour vinaigrette over olive mixture and serve.

Fruit Cube Salad

Ingredients

• Watermelon
• Cantaloupe (rock melon) or other sweet melon
• Kiwifruit
• Pineapple
• Marshmallow (optional)
• Garnish items like mint leaf, crushed nuts, sesame seeds or cinnamon

Method

• Use fruit that will survive being cut into cubes and won’t brown.
• Using marshmallow will add a soft textured sweetness to the finished cube.
• The cubes work well at around 2.5 cm/1 inch each. Cutting well-shaped cubes is what makes the whole cube work well.
• Use a sharp knife for clean cutting.
• Make a row consisting of three alternating cubes. Alternate so that no adjacent cubes are the same fruit.
• The base should consist of four sides of three cubes each side.
• Make two more layers in the same manner. The cube is complete.
• Place a mint leaf on the top as a garnish. Sprinkle crushed nuts, sesame seeds or a spice like cinnamon, as preferred.
• You can serve this as a single cube for everyone to share from, or you can serve it as a single serve cube for each diner.

— Recipes courtesy Chef Thayanithy