Author Notes
Most often we serve prosciutto wrapped melon slices, but I was wondering what would the inverse be - a cherry sized mozzarella ball wrapped in prosciutto wrapped in melon. I found an antique ice cream scooper at my parents' house, and used it to do my best to scoop out rather large melon balls. I then used a 1-inch melon ball scooper to make a circle in the middle of the melon ball in which to place the meat-wrapped mozzarella. A minted dressing made from the scooped out melon and its juices makes a refreshing and pretty addition. Reverse engineering a commonplace appetizer and using scooped out melon to add to the vinaigrette makes this an easy appetizer - as well as a salad - with increased melon flavor. —Bevi
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Prep time
20 minutes
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Serves
2 portions, but the size of the melon will determine how many servings
Ingredients
- To Assemble the Melon Wrapped Appetizer
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1
ripe melon - honeydew, cantaloupe, or your favorite variety
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Pinch
sea salt and ground black pepper
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Handful
Mozzarella Ciliegine (cherry sized balls)
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3 or 4
slices prosciutto, sliced again lengthwise into thirds or halves, to wrap around each mozzarella ball
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large handfuls
salad greens of your choice
- For the Melon Dressing
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scooped out 1-inch melon balls
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juice from the melon
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juice of 1/2 lemon
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1
mint leaf per melon ball - I used chocolate mint
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salt and white pepper if needed
Directions
- To Assemble the Melon Wrapped Appetizer
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Use a 2-inch ice cream scooper to scoop out large melon balls. They may not be perfectly round balls, but you will set the "good" rounded side up. Place balls on a large plate to work on. Use a 1-inch melon scooper to scoop out a crater on the top of the larger melon balls. Set the scooped out pulp aside for the dressing.
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Quickly pass a pinch of salt over the prepared melon.
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Wrap the mozzarella balls with the prosciutto slices, and place a cheese ball in each melon crater.
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Place the prepared melon on a bed of greens on salad plates.
- For the Melon Dressing
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Place all the ingredients except salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until the dressing is thoroughly liquified. Use more melon juice if necessary. Taste to see if you want to add a little salt and pepper.
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Spoon the dressing over the melon balls and greens.
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