MELONS AND MATERS — AUGUST 8 2015
Cantaloupes and watermelons are especially fine this week, thanks to near-perfect growing conditions. The sun-ripened fruits are a guilt-free treat – loaded with flavor and nutritional benefits but very low in calories.
Mix watermelon with sliced red onion, salt and pepper for a refreshing salad. Serve cantaloupe with yogurt and chopped mint.
Heirloom tomatoes are another summer delight. Heirlooms are old-fashioned cultivars bred for taste rather than shelf life. They are delicious holdovers from the days before industrialized agriculture.
Heirlooms come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes, all with sublime flavors and wonderful names: Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, Green Zebra, German Johnson, Eva Purple Ball, Black Cherry, Yellow Pear. Combine several types for a sparkling summer salad.
RECIPE
CHILLED CANTALOUPE SOUP
A delightful and refreshing way to enjoy the summer’s bounty of cantaloupes is with a chilled soup.
Made rich and creamy with the addition of a thick, nutty yogurt, this soup is perfect as an amuse when served in shooter glasses, an appetizer ladled up by the cupful, or an entrée when presented in a large bowl or tureen.
It can even do double time as a dessert with the substitution of cumin for cinnamon, deletion of crushed red pepper, and a tad bit more honey drizzled in. Offer to guests in a parfait glass with a scoop of fruit sorbet added.
Here’s how to make my version: cut the flesh of a large ripe cantaloupe into cubes and add in a blender with 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon honey and the juice of one-half lime. Pulse and add the zest of one lime, 3 basil leaves, 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, a dash of crushed red pepper and a pinch of kosher salt. Process until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding a splash or two of water.
Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate at least 3-4 hours, until chilled, or overnight. Stir before serving. Serve garnished with a drizzle of yogurt, chopped basil (or mint) and, optionally, cornbread croutons. Yields 4 bowls.
If you’d like a recipe for cornbread croutons, please email me at PatrickEvansHylton@gmail.com with “cornbread croutons” in the subject line.
Recipe from Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton
VENDORS
Artisan’s Bakery & Café
Three Ships Coffee
The Bakery at Riverside Farm
Bergey’s Bread Basket
The Creative Wedge
Croc’s 19th Street Bistro
Cromwell’s Produce
Edmonds Farm
Fresh Batch Jams
Full Quiver Farm
Give, Treat, Love
Grace and Gratitude
Hashi Food Truck
Kombuchick
Mattawoman Creek Farms
My Vegan Sweet Tooth
The Neighborhood Harvest
New Earth Farm
Pelon’s Baja Grill
Pennacock Peppers
Rockafeller’s Restaurant
Shady Goat Farm
Speedy’s Hot Sauce
Tasha’s Own
Terrapin Restaurant
Three Ships Coffee
Vy’s Pies
Whole-ly Rollers
Zinnia Girls
PATRICK EVANS-HYLTON
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