Cantaloupe and Arugula Summer Salad
Summer is here and so is all of its’ bounty. Every Saturday from 9 until noon East Beach hosts a Farmers’ Market. The fresh produce is amazing, but sometimes I go overboard. I come home laden with bags of produce that need to be enjoyed while still fresh. It becomes a challenge…after all there are only 2 of us.
Last week I bought 2 very large cantaloupes. When I tasted the first, I was slightly disappointed in the flavor. I cut it up and popped it in the refrigerator. After a couple of days the fruit was much sweeter, however I had so much melon that I needed to prepare it in new way. I was having pork tenderloin for dinner and a melon salad would work beautifully. Since I had plenty of arugula left over from my pizza experiment, I found a recipe using arugula and cantaloupe. I often google ingredients that I have on hand to find new and unique preparations. I can’t tell you how often these ventures turn out to be “keepers”. This recipe is definitely that. Found on California Cantaloupes.com, I only made one revision. I did not have hazelnuts as their recipe indicated, so I substituted toasted almonds. The salad was a hit.
- 2 cups canteloupe cut into bitesize pieces
- 4 cups Arugula lightly packed
- 1/4 cup toasted almonds
- 4 ounces Greek feta crumbled
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tbsp Lime juice
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- 1 Tsp Lime Zest
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- Place the salad ingredients into a large chilled salad bowl. Just prior to serving dress the salad with 1/2 of the dressing. Serve additional dressing as a side for those who require more.
- Place the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a sealed container so that it can be shaken to emulsify.
- I happened to use a container I kept for sentimental reasons from my mom's kitchen after she left us. It brings her into my kitchen when I cook.
- Results...a delicious, summer salad that will be a "Keeper" at our house. Don't be afraid to refrigerate leftovers for the next day. This salad retained it's flavor and freshness for our lunch the next day.
I found that there was no need for additional dressing. I refrigerated the dressing and used it later when I made the salad again.