Green Fruits in Jasmine Tea Syrup

Guest recipe by Joanna Pruess
Author of Tea Cuisine: A New Approach to Flavoring Contemporary and Traditional Dishes
Watch her interview on The Woman's Connection YouTube Vlog

Serves 6

Jasmine tea and sweetened lime juice transform a simple trio of green fruits into an ambrosial offering. Its memory will linger on your taste buds. Savor the fruit alone or with a scoop of green tea ice cream.

2 tsp jasmine tea leaves
1⁄2 c sugar
Grated zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
3 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 ripe honeydew melon, about 5 lbs, flesh scooped into little balls or diced
8 oz seedless green grapes, stemmed, washed, and cut in half
Sprigs of fresh mint, for garnish

1. Bring 1/3 cup water just to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the jasmine tea, remove the pan from the heat, and steep for 4 to 5 minutes. Strain into a clean pan, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible, and discard the tea leaves.
2. Add the sugar and lime zest to the pan. Over medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves, then bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the syrup for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lime juice.
3. Place the kiwi, melon, and grapes in a serving bowl and pour on the syrup. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours. Remove from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before serving, toss gently, and garnish with mint.

Variations
Yellow Fruit Salad: Combine 4 apricots, 4 nectarines, 1 mango, 1 papaya, and 1 small pineapple all cut into cubes. Prepare a syrup flavored with Earl Grey tea and lemon juice instead of jasmine tea and lime. Proceed as for a green fruit salad.