This sweet stone fruit salad served with tapioca pearls and a drizzle of homemade orange syrup is such a fun way to end an evening of entertaining. Let your guests help themselves as they build their own little bowl of perfection.
In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to the boil. Add ½ cup of tapioca pearls and turn down to medium heat. Boil for 20 minutes or until the pearls are translucent.
Stir occasionally.
When cooked, turn the stove off and place the lid on the saucepan and let it sit for a further 10 minutes.
Dissolve 4 tbsp of caster sugar. In a medium-sized bowl add 2 cups of cold water and sugar.
Drain the tapioca pearls and run under cold water to wash off all the starch.
Then place in the bowl of water with dissolved caster sugar and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
Salad
Cut all stone fruit into half and discard the pit.
Slice all fruit into thin slices.
Tear some mint leaves off the stalk.
Orange Syrup
For the orange syrup, zest 1 orange and juice 2 oranges.
In a small saucepan, add the orange zest, orange juice and orange blossom water. As it slowly comes to a boil, slowly add the sugar and stir until fully dissolved.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes, depending on how thick you like your syrup.
Assembly
Drain the tapioca pearls. Divide them into 4 small bowls.
Pour the orange syrup into a small jug or bowl.
Place some mint leaves on a platter.
Place the 4 bowls of tapioca pearls and jug of orange syrup on the platter.
Place the sliced stone fruit in a heap wherever there is space.
Guests can help themselves. The idea is to place the mint leaves and stone fruit into the bowl of tapioca pearls and drizzle some orange syrup on the top.
Notes
If the orange syrup becomes too thick as it cools down, add some boiling hot water to dilute it.
If you can’t find orange blossom water, you can omit it altogether. It just gives the syrup some floral notes.
You can use rosewater instead of orange blossom water if you prefer.
Any stone fruit can be used for this recipe.
You can choose the ripeness of the stone fruit. Can be on the crunchy side or on the softer side.