Bergamot Fresh Fruit Salad With Scented Pelargonium Leaves

French Tart's Note:

This fruit salad is amazing, and all the more for the addition of bergamot leaves and flowers! The fragrant leaves of this versatile herb delicately flavour the syrup whilst the gorgeous shaggy red flowers and scented pelargonium leaves decorate it for the final finishing flourish! If you are a lover of Earl Gray tea, you will instantly recognise the flavour of this herb, as it is used to flavour this famous and popular tea blend. NOTE: Bergamot, often referred to as bee balm, became distinguished as "Oswego Tea" when a Quaker botanist, John Bartram, sampled a tea made from the leaves. A Bergamot lemon is a small yellow sour citrus fruit similar to an orange, mostly cultivated in Calabria in Italy. The rind contains an essential oil used in perfumery (the basis for eau-de-cologne), confectionary and Earl Grey tea. The zest is also used in pâtisserie. NB: Prep time includes cooling time.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 3 hrs
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Syrup

• 75 g caster sugar
• 150 ml water
• 2 oranges, juice of
• 4 -6 bergamot leaves

Fresh Fruit Salad

• 225 g black currants , wiped clean and topped and tailed
• 225 g strawberries , hulled
• 225 g raspberries , hulled
• bergamot fresh edible flower , to decorate

Directions:

1. Syrup: Put the sugar, water, orange juice and bergamot leaves into a pan over a low heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes or until the syrup has reduced by half.
2. Discard the bergamot leaves and then add the blackcurrants and allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
3. When cool, stir in the strawberries and raspberries and put in to a decorative glass dish. Decorate with the bergamot flowers and scented pelargonium leaves. Serve with cream, sorbet or crème fraiche.
4. NOTE - RZ will not allow me to add these, scented pelargonium leaves, please use these to decorate the fruit salad!