This was the dish that completely converted me to fresh mint.
Who would have thought that beautiful, verdant mint would colour sugar so perfectly.
All you have to do is smash the fresh mint with the sugar crystals and you’re left with this crumbly, vibrant topping that lasts for a few days.
I sprinkle it on anything I can, and I’m guessing you will too.
It's a perfect match to the pineapple, but now I'm wondering what other herb sugars would go equally well with slabs of juicy pineapple. Let me know if you test another out!
Pineapple Carpaccio w Mint Sugar
Recipe by Jamie Oliver. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 ripe pineapple
4 heaped tablespoons caster sugar
1 handful of fresh mint
Method:
1. Cut both ends off and peel the skin with a knife, removing any little black bits.
2. Then cut the pineapple into quarters and remove the slightly less tasty core (if you have a pineapple as juicy as mine the core is soft and delicious so I ate that too!).
3. Finely slice your quarters, lengthways, as thin as you can.
4. Lay out flat in one or two layers on a large plate. Don't refrigerate this – just put it to one side.
5. Pick the mint leaves and add them to the sugar in a mortar and pestle then bash the hell out of it. You'll see the sugar change colour and it will smell fantastic. It normally takes about a minute to do if you've got a good wrist action.
6. Sprinkle the mint sugar over the plate of pineapple – making sure you don't let anyone nick any pineapple before you sprinkle the sugar over.
Pineapples supplied by the team at King of Fruit
I'm just about to post about this, Anna :) I used to do it Jamie's way, making a proper mint sugar to sprinkle on top, but now I simply sprinkle with finely chopped mint and sugar :)
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