Stone Fruit Salad with Honey and Herbs
Mis en Place:
2-3lbs ripe stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, etc)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup herb infused water, hot
8-10 sprigs of thyme
1 lemon, zested, juiced and 2 tbsp reserved.
10-12 mint leaves, sliced thin
3-4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed
Procedure:
Start by washing all your fruit and herbs well. This is not a cooked dish so you need to make sure everything is very clean before moving on.
Heat 3/4 cup of water to boiling. While the water heats up, use a vegetable peeler to slice 4 strips of lemon peel and add them to the water. When the water boils, remove it from the heat and add the 8-10 sprigs of thyme and set aside to cool slightly.
Slice the clean stone fruit and remove the stones, or pits, from the fruit before slicing the fruit in half and then each half in six slices.
Strain the hot water to remove the lemon peel and thyme sprigs and add 1/2 cup to the honey and stir well to combine.
Slice and juice the lemon and add 2 tbsp of the juice to the honey syrup and stir to combine.
Now Slice the mint leaves into ribbons or a chiffonade, and then chop finely.
Do this by stacking the leaves neatly and rolling them into a cigar shape, then slicing across the round end.
Finally, combine the herbs and fruit and add the lemon honey syrup to the bowl. Toss gently to distribute everything evenly.
Refrigerate to chill completely and the flavors will be better after 4 hours.