Rethinking melon and prosciutto
May 30th, 2008
In a little Paris bistro, I was once served a delicious cantaloupe soup that I have been making ever since, right down to the presentation.
They brought us shallow soup bowls scattered with diced prosciutto and minced chives. Next they brought a tureen filled with bright orange, frothy chilled cantaloupe soup that they ladled into the bowls for a refreshing first course.
I love melon and prosciutto together—who doesn’t?—but it always seems too obvious to serve at a dinner party, when I try to avoid things that people probably make at home. But this deconstructed version is elegant and surprising and takes less than five minutes to prepare.
I asked them how they made it and they claimed it was just ripe cantaloupe whizzed up in a blender. This works. But I like to add either a splash of lime juice or a bit of sweet Muscat wine to give it an extra dimension. The saltiness of the prosciutto and the fresh taste of the chives gives it a lift.
Make the soup ahead so it is very chilly when served. You can also chop your prosciutto and chives, load the bowls, and put them in the refrigerator along with the soup to chill so that you can assemble the first course in seconds once your guests arrive.
Recipe: Chilled Cantaloupe Soup With Chives And Prosciutto (Cookthink)
Recipe: Jamon Serrano And Cantaloupe Salad (Cookthink)
May 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Another lovely way to have melon and prosciutto together is to cut the cantelope into chunks, wrap with a piece of prosciutto and sprinkle with capers. I had this as an appetizer at a lovely restaurant in Sydney, Australia.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Make the soup ahead, and serve very cold? While that would be refreshing, you’d lose the perfume of the ripe melon. Now I’ve never made this dish before, but I think I’d rather have ice cold water on the side to cool me, and an incredibly fragrant, but slightly warmer, melon soup.
May 31st, 2008 at 6:12 am
Nick,
To each his own, but warm melon soup is about as appetizing as warm gaspacho. And you don’t lose the perfume of the ripe melon by chilling it. The blender action (and if you make ahead, you can blitz it again before serving) seems, on the contrary, to bring it out. And since this works best with ripe verging on overripe melons, it is very fragrant.
May 31st, 2008 at 9:44 am
Sorry if I came off a bit badly before; I should say that I’m not much for eating anything chilled below 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold drinks are fine (though I often find that white wines are served too cold for my liking, but that’s another argument altogether), but cold food is definitely not my preference.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Not at all, Nick! I understand about the warmer food preference. Just wouldn’t recommend it here. Which reminds me of an old roommate who tried to pass off her failed tzatziki for warm tzatziki soup at a dinner party I had the good fortune to miss, but that is another post altogether!
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 pm
What an interesting way to serve melon and prosciutto!