Apparently it’s melon season. I think there is not a single supermarket chain in Slovenia at the moment that wouldn’t have melon as fruit of the week with all kinds of events going on around it and of course, to my joy, interesting recipes to put this delicious fruit to a good (and maybe not totally expected) use. Local Slovenian and other farmers also offer different kinds of homegrown melons these days.
Cantaloupes and other summer melons serve as the quintessential take-along snack for summer picnics and barbeques. Their high water content helps ward off dehydration and combat the heat while their refreshing taste provides a guilt-free, low maintenance dessert (100 grams of melon provides 34 calories). The mildly sweet and juicy flavor of cantaloupe makes it a perfect fruit for even the pickiest palates. Cantaloupe contains an abundance of antioxidants including choline, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene, all of which provide protection against a range of diseases and conditions from the common cold to cancer.* So now that we have our melon benefits all sorted, it’s time to get to the “story” behind this recipe.I was lucky enough to have combined the best of both worlds – I got an interesting recipe for the melon chutney from a supermarket chain but got the melon from a local farmer from Croatian Istria. A quick “trip” to our garden and the store provided me with the remaining ingredients and I was ready to give this new recipe a try. Of course I also had to give my new Ikea plates a test run – I simply love them and I think the plating turned out quite amazing.
Ingredients (serves 1):
1/8 melon
25 g leek
1/4 red pepper
1/4 ripe banana
1/4 tbsp curry powder
splash of 100% apple juice
splash of balsamic vinegar
1/4 tbsp honey
cayenne pepper and thyme to taste
1/2 medium zucchini
1 tsp butter
1 tsp sour cream
1 salmon fillet
salt
Instructions:
1. First, wash and chop all the fruits and vegetables. Cut the melon, leek, red pepper and banana into same sized small pieces. Place them in one bowl and mix. Slice the zucchini and place it in a bowl of salted water.
2. Heat a medium pan with some olive oil to medium heat. Add curry powder to the melon mixture and mix well. Cook the mixture shortly in the pan before adding apple juice, balsamic vinegar and honey. Cook for about 5 or 10 minutes or until the liquid reduces a little. Season with cayenne pepper and thyme to taste and set aside.
3. In the meantime, bring the water with zucchini to a boil and cook until soft. Drain and set aside. Add sour cream and butter and mix well with a stick mixer.
4. Heat another medium pan with olive oil and grill the salmon fillet (seasoned to taste) – a few minutes on each side.
5. Serve grilled salmon on mashed zucchini and top with a few spoons of chutney. A nice big bowl of green salad goes really well with this dish.
* Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/279176.php
