Macedonia di Frutta

Macedonia at Mamma's

When first I came to Italy in 1973, this was on every menu I saw.  It’s an easy and nearly calorie free way to be dessert in Italy.  Years rolled by, someone invented tiramisu and macedonia disappeared.  I haven’t seen it on a single menu in well over ten years.  I mentioned it to a neighbor, and she said, “Oh yes, we used to have that quite often.”  It appeared she had no intention of reinitiating the old trend.  Too bad!  This is great food.

The way it appears above is my idea of how it might look for Sunday lunch at Mamma’s house.  This version is what has been supporting my diet lately.  It’s terrifically high in fiber and vitamins and astoundingly low in calories.  That wine glass holds pineapple, apple, Red Flame grapes deseeded, Kiwi fruit, strawberries, oranges, tangerines and banana.  The dressing is merely a tropical fruit juice mix that contains lemon to keep the fruits from turning brown.  Specifically this time it is pineapple, carrot and lemon misture.  Only the bananas can’t be held over once dressed that way. I make up large quantities at a time, but add banana daily.

Sometimes you might add wine or alcohol to the juices, sometimes it may need a bit of sweetening, occasionally you might like a dollop of heavy cream, yoghurt or even ricotta on top.  There’s no law against spices, although I never add them.

Here is another photo that shows it ready to go on a picnic.

Macedonia to go

I probably should have put it into a old fashioned glass for a picnic, but I daydream of Edwardian picnics with white linen, lace and parasols.  This would work.

Oh, and this is how you say macedonia:  mah-cheh-DOH-nya

Now you’re all set for summer.  I heard on TV that fruit helps dissolve cellulite!