I found myself propositioning a small amish grandmother at the farmers market the other day.
Bewildered?
Don’t be. Everything was all very innocent. I promise.
She was an adorable little old lady with salt and pepper hair standing about 4′ high, selling fresh organic french melons at the farmers market. I caught one whiff of those beauties about 5 feet ahead of her stall, and call me crazy, but …
… I think it was love at first waft.
I followed my nose to her small stall, and within moments had exchanged some crisp dollar bills for a melon, resisting all the while the urge to give her a big hug. I don’t know if it was because I was so thankful for the melon or because she reminded me of my grandmother.
The moment I smelled that melon, I knew it would be on the menu that night along with some chilled cauliflower soup and wild mushroom crostini.
And dinner ended up being just that. And I believe my father’s eyes grew ~3x their normal size when he saw the pretty little spread on the table. And I believe the dinner impressed the most skilled cook I know … my mother. And I believe I managed to make them both very happy. And I believe I did give a content sigh as I took in the scene. Maybe even two. Because I’d made two of the most important people in my life happy.
Happy.
Prosciutto melon
Serves 4-6
Cooking time: 5 min
Resting time: 30 min
This is incredibly easy to prepare and is perfect for guests. Serve alongside a mild, semi-firm cheese (a light sheeps milk cheese like p’tit basque pairs beautifully with it or if you want something more more pungent, pair with some ossau iraty) and some walnuts to create a well-balanced appetizer. French melons are ideal here, given their natural sweetness, but you can also use cantaloupe. Make sure the cantaloupe is on the smaller side, as it will be more flavorful.
Ingredients
1 small melon
1/4 lb prosciutto
A couple drizzles of olive oil
A dash of sea salt or fleur de sel
1. Cut the small melon in half and remove the seeds
2. Cut the melon into wedges, cutting about 6 pieces from each half
3. Loosely wrap the prosciutto around the wedge of melon
4. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle some fleur de sel over it all
5. Lightly cover the plate with some plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes prior to serving