Sangria Fruit Salad

From the sunny shores of Macedonia comes this recipe for “summertime in a bowl.” Sangria Fruit Salad is composed of a variety of seasonal fruits and embellished with a taste of Spain. Enjoy the sweetness of summer and the expressive flavor of Sangria in this beautiful fresh fruit salad.

The Taste of Summer

When I went to the market a few days ago I was thrilled with the selection of fruit on display. The aisles popped with an impressive variety of rich summer color and the sweet fragrance of ripe produce. I took it as proof that summer is finally here.

I found cherries at reasonable prices, along with peaches and nectarines. There were also melons, apricots and an abundance of local strawberries to choose from. They all looked so plump and delicious. In the end I brought home more than I could safely assume my family would eat.

To help ensure that these lovely fruits didn’t go to waste I looked for recipes to fill the kitchen with enticing aromas and invite everyone to indulge in the bounty of the season. One of the recipes I found came from a post titled “Macedonia” where Kate shared my disappointment that summer weather seems to have gone missing in the Pacific Northwest this year. On the upside, Kate has an antidote to these dark days. She has found summertime in a bowl. What’s more the recipe is fairly easy to make and is also temptingly gorgeous.

Sangria Flavors in a Beautiful Fresh Fruit Salad

So I gave Kate’s recipe a try. I topped strawberries, pitted cherries, and sliced apricots. There was no Marsala in the house, but I found a bottle of dessert wine, a vanilla port, that my husband and I bought on an anniversary trip a while back. I have been wanting to try it but was waiting for a reason. This beautiful fruit salad, celebrating summer, seemed like a good one.

I used 1/4 cup of my port in the salad and set the rest aside to serve after dinner. To the wine I added the orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and some vanilla sugar. As the fruit macerated the kitchen was filled with the transporting aroma of good sangria. What’s more the sun came out and suddenly I believed in summer! I could feel it, smell it and now I could even taste it in this beautiful fresh fruit salad.

Serve and enjoy!

Sangria Fruit Salad

Course: Dessert, SaladCuisine: SpanishDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4-6

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Resting time

1

hour 
Total time

1

hour 

50

minutes

Enjoy the sweetness and variety of summer fruit dressed with the flavors of Spain in this beautiful fresh fruit salad.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb strawberries, sliced

  • 1/2 lb cherries, pitted

  • 1/2 lb apricots, slice

  • Zest of 1 orange

  • 1/4 cup dessert wine (Marsala, Port, or other)

  • 3 Tbsp sugar (vanilla sugar if you have it)

  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

  • 1/4 cup pistachios (or toasted almonds, see Note below)

Directions

  • Combine the fruit in a large bowl.
  • Stir together the wine, orange zest, sugar and vanilla until the sugar is dissolved.
  • Pour the wine mixture over the fruit and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
  • Stir and sprinkle with nuts.

Notes

  • Recipe Source: Kate’s post “Macedonia” at The Accidental Hedonist.
  • The original recipe calls for pistachio nuts which are quite beautiful in this salad. Still I didn’t think they added a lot to the flavor. To draw on the Spanish influence of Sangria I might substitute toasted almonds next time. I would also feel free to substitute orange sections for the apricots when convenient.

7 Comments

  1. Something about Alaska Fishing Lodge Sitka

    I've been craving fruit like crazy, so this looks amazing to me!

  2. Good Pediatrician in Chennai

    what a deliciously easy fruit salad thanks for this……..

  3. Anonymous

    We’d like to invite you to participate in our July berry recipe contest. All competitors will be placed on our blogroll, and the winner will receive a fun prize! Please email me, sophiekiblogger[at]gmail.com, if you’re interested. Feel free to check out our blog for more details. (Click on my name in the message header link to visit our blog. 🙂

  4. Oh boy does this look good. I can definitely see myself eating this tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day ….

  5. the southern hostess

    This sounds perfect for a summer day! I love sangria. What a great recipe!

  6. I am a sangria fan, this looks really good. Nice photo with the sun!

  7. i. love. this.

    sangria is one of my favorite ways to consume alcohol (in reasonable amounts, of course…), pistachios are quite possibly my favorite nut, and i’ve never met a fruit i didn’t like.

    as if it weren’t beautiful enough, i love the glimmer of the goblet in the sunlight. gorgeous. 🙂

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