A Fistful of Fruit

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fresh produce available. No matter if you get your produce at a grocery store, at your local farmers' market, by belonging to a CSA or even ordering online, many fruits and veggies are currently at their prime and flavor abounds.

I'm always looking for unique ways to serve all this tasty fruit to my family and friends. Outside of a fruit salad or fruit kabob, how do you get a decent serving of fruit in an unexpected way?

I've done cold fruit soup in the past and, while lovely, it always seems cumbersome for guests unless we are having a sit-down meal. And if we're being honest, we only have formal get-togethers a couple times a year and usually during the fall and winter months. Certainly not during the peak of summer when the mercury tops out in 110s around here.

So I took the cold soup idea one step further and came up with the idea of fruit puree "shots". It's quick to make, easy for guests and ensures everyone has plenty of room in their belly to sample all the other items on the menu. By using clear shot glasses, you also get to showcase the gorgeous colors in in their simplest form.

You could really use any variation of fruit for this, so be creative and experiment. I like the idea of high-contrast fruits and tossed around these combos:

• Blueberry puree topped with mango puree


• Strawberry puree topped with pineapple puree


• Watermelon puree topped with cucumber puree

The main thing to consider is that the heavier or denser puree would be better on the bottom to avoid blending of the colors. I think it would be fun to do a variety of flavor combos for large crowds.

Another variation on this concept would be a shot of tomato gazpacho as a side dish to a vegetable sandwich.Summer Fruit Shots
Adapted from Two-Colored Fruit Gazpacho recipe by Andrew Weil, M.D.

3 kiwi fruits, peeled 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 pints chilled fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon sugar
8 ounces lime-flavored sparkling water
2 fresh mint leaves, cut into thin strips,

12 tall shot glasses

12 whole fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Process the kiwis and the lime juice in the food processor until smooth.

Process the raspberries and sugar in a food processor until they are smooth. Strain the raspberry puree through a colander to trap the seeds and transfer it to a big bowl. Add the sparkling water and mint and stir.

Pour equal amounts of the kiwi-lime puree into each glass. Pour equal amounts of the raspberry puree on top of the kiwi-lime puree. Garnish each glass with a mint leaf.