Mint Pineapple (GF)

I paid a visit to my local supermarket yesterday afternoon to pick up some ingredients for dinner.  When I walked in the door a gaggle of pineapples all bunched together on display caught my attention, so I decided to give one of them a home.  Donal Skehan had put thoughts of a scrummy chicken and broccoli pasta dish with creamy sauce into my head for dinner and I thought a nice light sweet treat would be perfect afterwards.  I had spotted a recipe for pineapple with mint a while back and as the weather was so fabulously sunny I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try it out.

Mint Pineapple
Serves 4

1 Ripe Pineapple
4 Heaped tbsp Caster Sugar
1 Handful Fresh Mint

1.  Cut the pineapple into rounds. 
2.  Take each slice and trim off the skin. 
3.  Cut into halves and then quarters. 
4.  Remove the harder core area from each quarter piece. 
5.  Cut each quarter in half again.  Arrange the pieces on one large serving dish or individual plates.
6.  Place the caster sugar into a pestle and mortar.
7.  Roughly chop the mint and add to the pestle and mortar.
8.  Pound the sugar and mint in the pestle and mortar for approximately 1 minute, the sugar will change colour and a delicious aroma will be released.
9.  Sprinkle the mint sugar over the pineapple and enjoy.

This is really delicious, light and refreshing.  It would make an ideal dessert to round off a heavy or a spicy meal and would be perfect on hot summer days or nights.  This would also be a lovely day time snack as it would feel like a treat without any of the guilt of being calorie laden (imagine how lovely it would be to open your lunch box in work and find this inside).  It could also be served with natural yoghurt, greek yoghurt or creme fraiche.