Watermelon Inspiration!

Two amazing recipes from Jess Bongard of Sweet Lime Cooking Studio in our Summer Inspired Vegetarian class: These recipes take melons to a whole new level: Watermelon-Rosewater Salad with Dates and Pistachios and Green Heirloom Tomato and Honeydew Melon Salad (pictures below). Oh my goodness! If you have melons, make these. If you don't, why ever not?? It's melon season! Come and get 'em!

Ice-cold seedless watermelon - yum!

Watermelon-rosewater salad with dates and pistachios

Galia melon - Originally developed by growers in Israel, Galia melons were the first hybrid of intensely perfumed Middle Eastern melons; tastes like a honeydew melon on steroids!

Green (ripe) heirloom tomatoes with some yellow thrown in for fun

Green heirloom tomato and honeydew melon salad

And a quick idea before getting to the recipes: Jess recommends pairing "like" color tomatoes with "like" color melons for some great salads - Red/pink tomato and watermelon salad; green tomato and honeydew salad; yellow tomato and yellow watermelon salad, etc. You get the idea - perfect for this time of year and endless flavor variations!

Watermelon-Rosewater Salad with Dates and Pistachios

5 cups watermelon balls, well-chilled
6 medjool dates, pitted and sliced into thin slivers
¼ tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1/3 cup shelled pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped
scant 1/8 tsp. rose water

Put the watermelon and dates in a large bowl.  Stir the salt into the lime juice in a small bowl. Drizzle it across the melon and toss well.  

Just before serving, turn the salad out into whatever salad bowl you'll be using and sprinkle with the pistachios and rose water.  Serve well-chilled. Adapted from Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson. Serves 4-6.

Green Heirloom Tomato & Honeydew Salad

1 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbs. raw green pepitas
Pinch salt and pepper

2 tsp. finely chopped seeded fresh jalapeno
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. distilled white vinegar
1 ½ pounds mixed green (ripe) tomatoes, cut into ¾-inch wedges
½ honeydew melon, cut into ¾-inch pieces
¼ cup packed cilantro leaves

Toast cumin in a dry small heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Add pepitas to skillet and heat, stirring constantly, until slightly puffed (be careful not to brown them), 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in a pinch of salt and pepper.  

In the same large bowl as the ground cumin, combine jalapeno, olive oil, and vinegar, and gently toss with tomatoes, melon and cilantro. Sprinkle with pepitas and serve. Adapted from Gourmet Magazine. Serves 4 as a side dish.