At the Little Mister’s Where the Wild Things Are birthday party, fruit salad was my go-to side dish. It’s always easy to throw together for a party, and it’s a big kid-pleaser too! I assembled mine right before the party without any trouble, and it was a hit. I even had someone ask for the dressing recipe!

At the party I was sure to include the Little Mister’s favorite fruits (apples and grapes) in the salad, but for my blog version of the recipe, I decided to go with a tropical fruit salad. Tropical fruits make me think of the Land of the Wild Things, since so many of them have the whimsical look and juicy flavor of fruit you’d expect to find in an imaginary world. I chose dragon fruit, starfruit, and kiwi for my tropical flavors, then I added clementines and strawberries for some familiarity and extra color. Toss it all in my favorite lime dressing, and you’re set to go!

P.S. Don’t let those awesome, funky dragon fruit skins go to waste—use them as bowls to serve your salad!

A

Tropical Fruit Salad: An AWR Original Recipe

“And when he came to the place where the wild things are
they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth
and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws…”

— Where the Wild Things Are

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 dragon fruit
• 2 kiwi fruit
• 1/2 starfruit
• 1-3 clementines (Any type of small orange-like citrus fruit will work.)
• 5 large or 10 small strawberries
• Lime Dressing (To make, simply whisk together the following: juice from 1 lime, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1/4-1/2 tsp white balsamic vinegar, 1/8 tsp kosher salt, 4 twists freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp sugar or honey.)
• You will also need a tiny cookie cutter (1-2 inches or so wide) or melon baller

 

Makes 4 dragon fruit bowls of tropical salad

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. 1. Cut your dragon fruit in half and separate the flesh from the skin the same way you would with an avocado. Trim away any skin that is still attached to the flesh and discard. Set the skin halves aside. Cut the flesh into 1/4-inch thick disks and cut shapes from the disks with a tiny cookie cutter. Place the shapes in a large bowl. You can also choose to scoop the flesh from the skin with a melon baller if you don’t have a small enough cookie cutter.
         

         This slideshow requires JavaScript.
      2. Slice your kiwi into disks, cutting away and discarding the peel. Slice your starfruit width-wise into 1/4-inch thick stars. Peel and separate your clementines. Add them all to the bowl with the dragon fruit.
      3. Drizzle on the lime dressing and gently stir to combine. Scoop the fruit salad into the dragon fruit skin halves.
         
      4. Serve after the wild rumpus starts!

    

   Check out my other tropical recipes!

   

   Siren Notes on the Rocks from The Odyssey

   

   Pineapple Ticking Crocodile from Peter Pan

   

   Key Lime Coins from Treasure Island