With luscious fruit in such abundance during the summer, I’m always looking for ways to add it to my meals.
I’ve written before about my Watermelon, Cherry Tomato and Feta Salad, and my Peach Burrata Salad – both of which are wonderful ways to end a meal because their natural sweetness eliminates my interest in dessert.
I was intrigued by a recipe from an old issue of Cook’s Country that frankly sounded bizarre at first glance.
Pairing cantaloupe and blue cheese? You’ve got to be kidding!
But I had a beautiful ripe cantaloupe that was going to go bad if I didn’t use it, and my absolute favorite blue cheese was on sale at Earth Fare. Point Reyes Original Blue is an artisinal, award-winning blue made with raw cow’s milk by the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company which I was introduced to on a heavenly trip to Sonoma County about seven years ago. The creamy texture of the cheese, and its pronounced, but not overly-assertive, tangy flavor is the perfect balance for me when paired with fruit and nuts.
I used the Cook’s Country recipe as a springboard to create my own recipe. After all, a salad isn’t a salad to me unless it has some type of greens as a foundation. I used mixed Salanova lettuce as the base because I liked the contrast of the green and purple leaves. Salanova has a softer buttery texture and smallish leaves. Although I usually mix Salanova with other leafy greens, I thought that it would work nicely on its own with the cantaloupe and the Point Reyes Original Blue.
The recipe is deceptively simple. Just prepare your cantaloupe using a melon baller, make the dressing, toast the pecans, and make sure that your small precious wedge of blue cheese is at room temperature. Wash your lettuce, spin it dry, and toss it with a tablespoon or so of the dressing. Put the cantaloupe balls in the remaining dressing, crumble in the blue cheese, and top with the toasted pecans.
That’s it!
WARNING: Please don’t be tempted to make this with the dry, pre-crumbled blue cheese from the deli counter. You’ll save some money, but it will definitely not taste the same.
Our first course was Baked Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms (please see my post in March for the recipe) . . .
and we thought that the Cantaloupe Salad was the perfect second course!
No dessert required!
- 2 ounces Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese
- ½ of a very ripe, fragrant cantaloupe
- ⅓ cup pecans, toasted and broken into fairly large pieces
- Salanova lettuce (mixed green and purple leaves), washed and spun dry
- Juice and zest of one large lime
- 2 teaspoons raw local honey
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
- Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt (optional)
- Take the cheese out of the fridge while you prepare the other salad ingredients, but don't crumble it until you're ready to serve the salad. I took mine out when we began eating the first course, and it was room temperature by the time we finished the first course and assembled the salad.
- Wash the outside rind of the cantaloupe with a vegetable wash (or even a sprinkling of baking soda or an antibacterial soap, if you don't have a vegetable wash handy). This is a step I always take in the wake of the deadly outbreak of listeria in 2011 that killed 30 people.
- Dry the cantaloupe and cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds and use a melon baller to cut the cantaloupe flesh into pretty balls and put them in a bowl. (If you don't have a melon baller, just cut the cantaloupe into one inch pieces.)
- Toast the pecans in a dry small skillet over medium heat until they are golden brown. This will take about 5-6 minutes. Be sure to watch them and shake your skillet often so that they don't burn! Break them into pieces when cool.
- Wash and spin dry the lettuce and put it in a separate bowl.
- Make the dressing with the lime juice and zest, honey, basil, mint, salt, pepper, and the optional red pepper flakes. Whisk in the olive oil. (You might hesitate to use the red pepper flakes, but honestly, they add a bit of a bite to the dressing that balances out the sweetness from the honey and the cantaloupe. If you're feeling brave, try the smaller amount of red pepper flakes first and see what you think!)
- Toss the lettuce with a tablespoon or so of the dressing and put the remaining dressing on the melon balls. Toss lightly to coat.
- Carefully crumble the oh-so-expensive Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese, which is now at room temperature. Add about half of the crumbled cheese to the bowl with the dressed cantaloupe balls, and half of the toasted pecans.
- Divide the dressed lettuce between two (or three) chilled salad plates, top with the cantaloupe mixture, and embellish with the remaining cheese and pecans. Taste and if you think it's needed, add a little sprinkling of sea salt (or the Himalayan Pink Salt, which has become fairly easy to find).
- Serve with a chilled salad fork, eat slowly, and savor!
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