prosciutto wrapped melon with a honey mustard vinaigrette
Whoever decided to take aged ham and wrap it’s salty deliciousness around sweet melon, I thank you. Its a classic and perfect combination of flavours that seems to stand the test of time and survive through the various food trends.
I had a perfect sweet melon or Cantaloupe (otherwise known as Spanspek in South Africa), and lots paper thin slices of Parma ham which I bought from Giovanni’s. I decided to put them together.
Now I would have thought this was just the perfect side dish to go on a brunch menu, until I chatted to a chef friend of mine from Twitter who suggested I drizzle a honey and wholegrain-mustard vinaigrette over them. He had me at drizzle (:-)).
Andrew is the head chef at the Sun International resort Sun City and he is just the best person to bounce food thoughts off. Full of fantastic ideas he gives me advice whenever I need. Thank you for this suggestion, it takes the whole experience up a juicier notch. Andrew tweets @ChefAndrewR.
Recipe for the honey & mustard vinaigrette | makes around 110ml
- 60ml (4T) the best olive oil you can lay your hands on
- 2T red wine vinegar
- 20ml runny honey
- 1 1/2 t wholegrain mustard (I love the Maille brand)
- pinch of salt
Place all of the above in an empty jar, attach a lid and shake vigorously.
Cut the melon into wedges that are the size that you like and wrap a slice of prosciutto (like Parma ham) around each wedge and drizzle with the vinaigrette.
I look forward to connecting with you again
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An utterly beautiful piece, with lovely photography [as always]. Spansspek is reputed to have come from servants chatter in the Residency about the habit of Lady Juanita Smith, Spanish wife of Governor Sir Harry Smith who liked to eat melon and ham for breakfast.
Hi M, thanks for the kind words. How interesting, so wonderful to have the background 🙂
In would be so much easier for me to follow your gorgeous blog posts if the reader subscription version included photo(s)
Tx.
This a great classic dish. It’s just a shame I don’t like melon but I can always take a double helping of the proscuitto.
Hi Barb, Thanks and I will look into that, not exactly sure how the feed comes in.
Best
sam
Crazy! But sounds absolutely delicious.
I made this for the entree for the family Xmas this Xmas past. I paired it with some rocket (arugula); everyone gobbled it up and had rave reviews. The dressing really takes a familiar pairing and kicks it up a notch.
Im glad you enjoyed it and hte dressing.