Fruit Salad with Vanilla Lime Simple Syrup

This is a great summery dish that I had completely forgot about making… the last time was in 2008?  I make the vanilla lime simple syrup for tea, but I had forgotten how awesome it is with fresh summer fruit.  It’s a great twist on a traditional fruit salad and it’s so easy to make.

Vanilla Lime Simple Syrup

• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 limes cut in half, juiced {zest them if you’d like an extra punch, retain the limes too}
• 1 vanilla bean, halved & scraped OR 1.5 Tablespoons vanilla bean paste {buy at Amazon, Williams Sonoma, or most groceries}

Add one cup of water and one cup of sugar to a sauce pan.  Turn on medium high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until all the sugar is dissolved into the water and it becomes clear.  Remove from heat and add vanilla bean, limes, zest {if you did that} and lime juice, allow simple syrup to sit until it cools.  Once cool, strain and pour over large bowl of fruit salad {here I used strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, and kiwi} or keep refrigerated up to one week.

 

The fruit salad is best after allowing to soak for at least 2 hours, though if you’re impatient, you can enjoy right away. 

And those juices left over from the fruit?  Pour them into a pitcher of iced tea.  You can thank me later.