Pretty in pineapple

No one generally leaves our table hungry -- it's usually much the opposite! Having said that, it's always nice to have a light dessert on special occasions or when friends come for dinner. I have never been an accomplished dessert cook or baker, as often these dishes require a precision in following recipes that would benefit from a PhD in chemistry. My style is a little more improvisational!

So with that said, I have a few favourite desserts that are simple, easy to enhance and look great. Here's one: Essentially pineapple carpaccio, dressed to impress and super fresh to cleanse the palate after a good meal.

A couple of things to bear in mind: A sharp knife is crucial (plus a steady hand to cut) -- I have tried using a mandolin, but the softness of ripe pineapple means you might end up with mush. Also the colours of the ingredients are designed to make the display "pop," so if you are substituting fruits, try to get a good contrast. Enjoy!

Serves: 4-6 as a dessert

Time to prepare/cook: Approximately 15 minutes to prepare the ingredients; 5 minutes to arrange the display

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🌱 Plant points: 2¼, plus 1 per additional fruit or nut

Pineapple · pomegranate · mint (¼)

Boost it: add another fruit such as kiwi or raspberries (+1), scatter over toasted almonds or other unsalted nuts (+1), or serve with a squeeze of lemon or lime (+1)

What are plant points? Eating 30+ different plants a week boosts a healthier, more diverse gut.

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Ingredients

• 1 large, ripe pineapple (or you can buy already prepped "tubes" of pineapple in some stores)

• 1 fresh pomegranate

• Handful of fresh mint

• Optional: A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime

• Pots & pans needed: Big flat serving dish

Method

• Prepare the pineapple, removing the top, base and hard outside skin, so you are left with a lovely bright yellow tube of fruit (get rid of all the brown knobbly bits)

• Then remove the hard core of the pineapple: There are cheap pineapple corers available, but if you don't have one, you can use a long, sharp knife or even a vegetable peeler, but you may have to cut the pineapple tube into shorter lengths to remove the core

• Slice the pineapple tube with a very sharp knife as thinly as you can -- don't worry if some pieces are not perfect circles as you can hide this in the display

• Shell the pomegranate

• Wash the mint and pick off complete leaves

• Arrange the pineapple slices on the serving plate overlapping the slices in circles, then sprinkle the pomegranate seeds and mint leaves over the top

• Serve with small slices of lemon or lime if you wish

Here's an optional extra with thin slices of kiwi for additional colour and taste. You can get as creative as you want on extras, but again try to use contrasting colours to make it pop!