A terrific summer salad idea

[Jenise]

A friend served a most remarkable light and fresh side salad last night to accompany grilled rib eyes and corn on the cob (first of the season, oh yes it was good!). It consisted of but five ingredients: sliced Persian cucumbers, sliced green onions, chunks of cantaloupe, lime juice and a light sprinkle of salt. That's it. Zero fat and tons of flavor, great color, great contrast in every way with the rich beef.

It would make a great lunch salad, too, paired with a scoop of cottage cheese.

I'll be copying this one in the future.

What's a Persian cuke?

Similar to a common green-skinned cucumber, the perfect Persian cucumber measures about four to five inches long as this is the size when it is at its peak of sweetness. At this ideal size, this crunchy, watery cucumber does not develop seeds. If allowed to grow bigger, bitter tasting seeds develop which destroys its sweetness. This eater-friendly cucumber is a "burpless" variety as it doesn’t cause obnoxious burping like other types of cucumbers. For the best cucumber, the firmer, the better. I see them at Trader Joe's this time of year, and they are exactly the size mentioned and very good.

Thank you, Karen.

Sounds delicious. I especially like the cottage cheese idea. I wonder how it would taste if you substituted a different melon in there...

[Jenise]

Jeff, an English cucumber would do--any type where the peel is edible.

Melissa: I don't see why any other melon wouldn't be as good. Cantaloupe just has a color advantage.

[Jenise]

For those of you who prefer recipes, Anne just sent me her RCP:


Anne's Cantaloupe & Cucumber Salad

About 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
salt and pepper
1/2 large English cucumber, peeled in alternating strips and coarsely chopped
1 ripe cataloupe, coarsely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Whisk the lime juice, salt and pepper until blended.
Add cucumber, cantaloupe, green onion and cilantro. Toss to coat.
Enough for four.

This is clearly a dish where the quality of the ingredients counts for everything. I wouldn't think of making it if each ingredient wasn't at the peak of perfection. It sounds very refreshing and a great accompaniment for that meal.

[Jenise]

Absolutely, Christine. Or at the very least if you don't have a good melon, you won't have a good salad.

Jenise, I found a nice looking heirloom cantaloupe today, and it did have a nice smell. I had an appointment and the cantaloupe sat in the cool car for about 90 minutes. When I got back to the car, it smelled just like a fully ripe loupe. I'm cooking a Rick Bayless dinner tonight and this will be a great salad for the hot, smoky dish.

Beautiful and refreshing salad, that went great with my Mexican, spicy dinner tonight. Thanks Jenice for posting this.

[Jenise]

I think you nailed the pairing, Karen, ethnic foods like Mexican are a perfect place for this cooling salad.

Breakfast is the other perfect pairing...right now I am checking email, watching our triplet eagles who are branching this week, and eating the rest of the salad with some cottage cheese. Yum!

thanks, we had last night, very refreshing

Thanks for this Jenise, I tried this last night, and everyone really enjoyed it. A great, simple summer salad.