HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

What can you do when you have people coming for drinks and have no time. This is a delicious way to serve melon that can be prepared in a matter of minutes. I had half of a honey dew melon in the fridge and had to be eaten. It was very ripe and sweet. I created melon bites inspired by the melon salad I make regularly - see recipe in blog. You can also use some rock melon, if you have any, to create a nice combination of colour and flavour. Cut melon into bite size cubes. Add some serrano ham, some flaked Parmesan, pecorino or grana padano cheese, a mint leaf and secure with a toothpick. If you like, you can drizzle them with the dressing from the salad recipe just before serving.

It is the most delicious salad for summer. You can use any type of melon but make sure you use two different types. Use shaved parmesan if you cannot find pecorino pepato and add some pepper in the dressing. The melons MUST be ripe. I sometimes buy the melons when they are cheap and keep them at home until they are ready to eat.  I use any kind of finishing vinegars instead of vincotto. The last one I used it was black cherry. Just amazing!!  Also, I sometimes use Serrano ham instead of prosciutto. You can get it at Aldi and it's cheaper. It comes from Spain and I grew up eating it. Delicious! INGREDIENTS: 1 long red chili, seeds removed, very finely chopped 1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup (60 ml) vincotto 1/2 honeydew melon 1/2 rock melon 12 slices prosciutto, torn 125 g shaved pecorino pepato Mint leaves to serve METHOD Combine chili, oil and vincotto in a bowl and season. Set aside. Cut the melons into thin slices and arr...