Fresh Pineapple With Warm Spice-Infused Honey

Washington Post. This recipe illustrates how extremely simple presentations can sometimes be amazing. It isn't at all the type of recipe I would normally have considered "dessert" but the author talkd about a meal she had at a small tavern in Greece where she was served an after-dinner plate of thinly sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon. At the time she thought it was a little simplistic but when she tasted it she was hit by how much more appealing and satisfying it was then just fruit eaten out of hand. She's since done many variations of simple fresh fruit dressed with herbs or spices.

I don't like raw apples (for some reason) but I love fresh pineapple and want to use it more. This recipe dresses it with honey infused with lime, allspice and thyme.

Ingredients

1/2 cup mild honey
2 strips lime peel, white pith removed
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 to 4 fresh thyme sprigs, plus 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
6 whole allspice berries
4 slices fresh habanero peppers or 6 thin slices jalapeño chile peppers
One (2 1/2 pounds) pineapple
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the honey, lime peel and juice, thyme sprigs, allspice and sliced pepper and, stirring occasionally, bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and steep for 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, discard the seasonings from the honey.

2. Trim the top and bottom from the pineapple and cut away the peel. Quarter the pineapple lengthwise and remove the core from each quarter. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, slice the pineapple very thinly.

3. When ready to serve, warm the honey over medium-low heat, if necessary. Evenly divide the sliced pineapple among the serving plates and drizzle each serving with about 1 tablespoon infused honey. Garnish with 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves and season lightly with salt and serve.