Basil and Mint Melon Salad
June 22, 2009 by Meseidy
Filed under Dessert, In My Kitchen, Snacks, Soup/Salad
Basil and Mint Melon Salad
Holy HOTNESS! No not talking about me, talking about the weather today. Let me sum it up for you really quick. It consisted of the following; flat tire, riding in a black car with leather seats and no air conditions, a heat index of 120, busted air conditioning at the office, rocking the fan blown hair and riding in a VERY HOT black car with leather seats. Not so fun.
On such a hot stinking day a treat like this is guaranteed to hit the spot. It is utterly refreshing, sweet and the mint subtly cools your mouth. Oh and it is so stinking, extremely easy. It is definitely a win-win.
I used a small seedless watermelon, sliced in half.
Using a melon baller hollow out 1/2 of the melon.
Slice a cantaloupe in half, remove the seed.
Ball the cantaloupe and add to the watermelon. I had a way easier time balling the cantaloupe then the watermelon as you can see.
Get a small bundle of fresh basil and mint.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon.
Combine juice, basil, mint and 1/4 cup simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves, cool) in a blender and blend.
Pour over the melon salad.
Transfer your salad to hollowed watermelon shell and serve.
This was absolutely delicious and did I mention refreshing. I almost forgot that the heat index today was at 120 degrees!
Basil and Mint Melon Salad (adapted Giada DeLaurentiis)
Ingredients
- 1/2 watermelon
- 1 cantaloupe, cut in half, seeded
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped mint leaves plus whole sprigs, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves plus whole sprigs, for garnish
- 1 lemon juiced (1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves, cool)
Directions
Scoop 2 cups each from the watermelon and the cantaloupe using a melon baller. Carve the remainder of the watermelon out and reserve shell.
Add to a blender the chopped mint, chopped basil, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Blend until smooth.
Add the watermelon and cantaloupe balls to the carved out watermelon half.
Add the vinaigrette to the balls and toss to combine.
Garnish with the mint and basil sprigs and taste.
YUMMY! I’m going to have to try this one while we are at the beach! Totally Awesome!
I just love finding recipes for summer which will utilize the fresh herbs from my garden. Basil and mint? Got ‘em by the bucketloads. And simple syrup is already made, thanks to hubby and his affinity for Mojitos! So this will be super easy to throw together.
Best,
Casey
Editor
http://www.tastestopping.wordpress.com
oh boy, 120-heat-index + black leather seats = ouch.
This melon salad looks so colorful and tasty!! It is a step up from the typical slices of watermelon at a cookout.
This looks perfect for summer and so elegant!
This looks wonderful, and perfectly refreshing after a day like you had! (I’ll trade you for the heat index…. it hasn’t gotten above 63 here in weeks. The rest of it, though, I’ll take a pass on
Okay, I have to admit that I’m a bit skeptical of mixing basil into this but I trust you so I’m willing to be brave. I’ll let you know how it goes!