Summer Fruit Salad with Ginger and Lime

This is one of my mom's tried and true recipes. She's a big fan of the show "The Chew" and got this recipe from Clinton Kelly. I was in a pinch and asked her if she had a fruit salad that I could make for a PTA planning meeting I had scheduled for the next day. Usually, I don't try new recipes for an audience. The golden rule of entertaining, don't try something new for company. Always make it first. However, exceptions are made when it's mom approved. And the risk was worth the return.
It is the bomb of a fruit salad! You may look at the pictures and say, so what? Looks like just another fruit salad...boring. Right?
Wrong. 
The simple ginger syrup and fresh lime zest and juice puts this fruit salad into the realm of dessert. It is so amazingly sweet and refreshing. Everyone who has tried it has had the same response. 
They take a bite expecting plain old fruit...their eyes widen and flash in recognition that this is not just plain old fruit...they pause and chew and taste....then they ask...."What did you put on this fruit?" 
It is so delicious! I've made this salad at least three times since then and each time I've added a little different fruit, this time being raspberries, but you can add strawberries or blueberries if you prefer. (The original recipe does not contain any berries, only the melons, pineapple and kiwi) The simple syrup can be made ahead of time and since you only use about a 1/4 cup for the salad, keep the remaining syrup in a mason jar and store in the fridge for later use on all your sliced fruit. It's amazing on sliced apples. Enjoy!

Summer Fruit Salad with Ginger and Lime (recipe from Clinton Kelly)
serves 8

Ginger Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 large piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into thin rounds (~2 T)

Fruit Salad
2 cups pineapple
4 kiwis, sliced and quartered
2 cups cantaloupe
2 cups honeydew melon
1 pint raspberries
zest and juice of 2 limes
3 T mint leaves,
1/4 cup ginger simple syrup

Make the ginger syrup ahead of time, so that you can refrigerate an hour or more to cool. (I made mine the day before) Add water, sugar and ginger pieces to a small saucepan and heat until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and continue to heat at a low boil for about 8 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool a little. Use a fork to fish out the ginger pieces and discard them. Allow Syrup to cool further until it's cool enough to safely pour into an airtight container. I used a clean mason jar. Refrigerate overnight or until thoroughly chilled. (~2 hours)

Prepare all fruit and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place all cut fruit into a large serving bowl, and gently mix until all fruit is evenly combined. Wait to add raspberries until the end. They will get damaged when you stir the melon so I hold off adding them so that they stay looking like raspberries. Zest 2 limes, reserving the lime zest in a small bowl. Juice the two limes and add juice to the lime zest and stir. Pour the lime zest and juice over the fruit and then add 1/4 cup of the ginger syrup and gently fold fruit until well coated with the lime juice and ginger syrup. Add raspberries. Tear or julienne mint leaves and add to fruit. Give the fruit salad another gentle stir to combine raspberries and mint and serve. Enjoy!