5 Ingredients or Fewer

avocado & melon salad

June 15, 2012
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 3-4
Author Notes

I remember watching in horror as my grandpa sprinkled salt onto his slices of melon. How dare he! Years later, I realized there was a reason to his madness... it's delicious! especially when combined with a little lime, spice and the smooth creamy flavors of avocado. If you are feeling artistic, feel free to take the time to make this salad into a little checkerboard presentation, otherwise a melon-baller will give you beautiful results as well! Enjoy!
aubrey | drum beets

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 4 cups cubed watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, or any melon variety
  • 2 avocados
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 pinch fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 pinch aleppo chili flakes
  • 1 handful cilantro, trimmed and washed
Directions
  1. notes: *you might want to play with the ratio of melon to avocado - i like a bite of avocado with every few melon bites, so i used 2 avocados. *unless you are like me and completely enjoy playing with your food for about an hour in an attempt to make perfect little 1-cubic inch slices of fruit... you can also use a melon baller to make adorable bite-size melon balls. or simply sprinkle large slices of melon with rinds intact on a plate and scoop out chunks of avocado with a spoon on top of the melon slices. all are beautiful presentations.
  2. cut your melon in halves and scoop out the innards with a large spoon. if using a melon baller, simply scoop out little rounds of a variety of melon until you have 4 cups total. to make little cubes, cut the melon halves into 1-inch wide strips, remove the skin, and then cut into 1-inch cubes. snack on your odds and ends if they don't make perfect little cubes! don't waste them!
  3. cut your avocados in half and remove the pits by hitting them with a sharp knife and twisting it out. again, you can use a melon baller to shape your bite-size pieces of avocado. or, gently remove the peel and cut avocados into 1-inch cubes. again, don't waste your imperfect avocado chunks!
  4. to assemble, mix melon balls together with remaining ingredients in a large serving bowl. or on a large square or rectangular platter, arrange your 1-inch cubes of fruit in a random checker-board pattern. drizzle with lime juice and sprinkle with remaining ingredients. season to taste with salt, pepper and chilies.
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9 Reviews

Paige July 30, 2018
Love your memory of your grandfather. I have a similar memory of my grandmother (a wonderful cook) sprinkling salt on her tomatoes. I was so appalled. And or course, as you say, she was on to something! :)
 
boulangere July 6, 2015
Gorgeous. You should enter this in the current contest.
 
blanka.n June 20, 2012
I think I'm making this for my book group tomorrow.
Fabulous!!!
 
Marie V. June 18, 2012
Very pretty!
 
em-i-lis June 18, 2012
this is absolutely lovely!
 
Pegeen June 15, 2012
Wow... lovely presentation! You've got me thinking about a version with honeyed goat cheese for "mortar" - assuming I was making it for very few people. Do you serve this dish with a spatula-type cake server so that no one messes up the quilt? :-)
 
Beautiful, M. June 15, 2012
Gorgeous!
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx June 15, 2012
pretty!
 
Bevi June 15, 2012
I love to play with food and think your cubed presentation is really creative!