ingredients
serves 8
1 1/4 cups water
8 tbsp superfine sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
pared rind of 1 orange
1 1/4 cups port
2 oranges
1 small ripe Ogen, Charentais or Honeydew melon
4 small bananas
2 dessert apples
8 ounce seedless grapes
method
1. Put the water, sugar, spices and pared orange rind into a saucepan and stir, over a gentle heat, to dissolve the sugar. Then bring the liquid to the boil, cover the pan with a lid and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool, then add the port.
2. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a mixing bowl, to remove the spices and orange rind. With a sharp knife, cut off all the skin and pith from the oranges. Then, holding each orange over the bowl to catch the juice, cut away the segments, by slicing between the membrane that divides each segment and allowing the segments to drop into the syrup. Squeeze the remaining pith to release as much of I the remaining juice as possible.
3. On a chopping board, cut the melon in half, remove the seeds and scoop out the flesh with a melon bailer, or cut it into small cubes. Add it to the syrup. Peel the bananas and cut them in 1/2 inch slices.
4. Quarter and core the apples and cut them in small cubes. (Leave the skin on or peel if the skin is tough.) Halve the grapes if large, or leave them whole. Stir all the fruit into the syrup, cover and chill for an hour before serving.
