Seven fruits for seven colors, each chosen for its hue rather than its flavor: that's how a simple fruit salad becomes a color wheel on the table, red currants on one side, purple grapes on the other, and in between orange, yellow, green, blue and indigo. The fruit needs only washing and a little arranging, so the effort goes into the sauce: tahini loosened with citrus juice and a touch of honey or maple syrup, warmed with cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger. Shaking it in a jar rather than blending it simplifies both the prep and the washing-up, and adding the water spoon by spoon lets you decide exactly how thick it should be. Hemp seeds scattered on top add a little crunch against the soft flesh of the fruit. This is a dish that works well as the centerpiece of a summer brunch or a shared table, where the color code gives guests something to talk about before the first bite.
Rainbow Fruit Salad with Lemon Tahini Sauce
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Ingredients
For the fruit salad
- Redcurrants (red)
- Oranges (orange)
- Plums (yellow)
- Kiwi (green)
- Blueberries (blue)
- Blackberries (indigo)
- Grapes (purple)
- Shelled hemp seeds, to finish (optional)
For the tahini sauce (about 25 cl)
- 6 cl tahini
- 1 tablespoon raw honey (or maple syrup)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground ginger
- 1 pinch sea salt (omit if your tahini is already salted)
- 4 to 6 tablespoons water
Preparation
- Gather fruit covering all the colors of the rainbow. Take whatever is freshest and in season if one is missing.
- Wash everything thoroughly and arrange in a bowl.
- For the sauce, put the tahini, honey or maple syrup, citrus juice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a jar with a tight lid. Shake vigorously until smooth, adding the water spoon by spoon until you get a coating consistency.
- Pour the sauce generously over the fruit, scatter with hemp seeds and serve.
Tip
Feel free to swap out any color that's hard to find for whatever fruit is ripest at the moment: it's the balance of colors that matters, not the exact list. The tahini sauce keeps for about a week in the fridge in a closed jar, with a spoonful of water and a good shake to loosen it before serving.
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FAQ: your questions about the fruit salad and tahini sauce
How do you store tahini once the jar is opened?
In the fridge, tightly closed in its jar, tahini keeps for several months: the cold slows the rancidity of the sesame oil naturally present in the paste. It can also stay at room temperature, away from light, but then keeps for less time — it's best to use it within a few weeks of opening.
How do you elevate a fresh fruit salad?
Three simple levers: acidity (lemon or citrus juice), an aromatic note (mint, basil, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla) and a textural contrast. That's the role of the hemp seeds here. A sauce, like this tahini one, fills all three roles at once and turns a simple fruit salad into a composed dessert.
How do you use tahini sauce?
Beyond fruit, it coats raw or grilled vegetables, works as a dip for appetizers, replaces a vinaigrette on a green salad and spreads on crackers. The sweet version, with honey and cinnamon, also goes very well on porridge, a fruit bowl or apple slices.
What liquid goes in a fruit salad?
Freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice remains the most common: it slows the oxidation of cut fruit and binds everything together. You can also use coconut water, a cold mint infusion, or, as here, a thicker sauce made from nut or seed butter, which coats rather than soaks.
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