3 WAYS WITH watermelon

ANY kid will tell you that it’s impossible to improve on a cold slice of watermelon on a summer day. But if you are serving it as part of a meal, you may need to give it a slight twist to tantalise more jaded adult palates. No, you may not cut a hole in a whole melon and pour in a bottle of cheap vodka, that’s Student Cuisine 101. Although, come to think of it, you could put watermelon cubes on toothpicks with maraschino cherries and sprinkle with vodka for fun. Watermelon and feta tossed with herbs and olive oil has become a familiar salad, but here are three other simple ways with watermelon, because it is not the kind of fruit you can fiddle with.

1 ROASTED WATERMELON DESSERT SOUP

Cut about 24 x 3cm blocks out of the solid flesh of a ripe watermelon, and save the mushy bits (not the seeds) for later. Dryfry the cubes in a hot pan for a few seconds on each side. They should be lightly caramelised but not cooked. Chill in the fridge. Heat 100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar, 10ml (2 tsp) water and 15ml (1 tbsp) finely grated fresh ginger in the pan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Blend with 1.5-litres of the seeded watermelon pulp, then stir in 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint. Serve the roasted watermelon chunks in a bowl with the fruit soup, and panna cotta, crème caramel or ice cream on the side.

2 WATERMELON WITH MINT & LIME

Mix /2 cup of chopped fresh mint with1the zest of 2 limes and 100g (1/2 cup) sugar. Arrange 12 cold watermelon triangles (skin on) on a plate and squeeze over the juice of 2 limes. Sprinkle with the mint-lime sugar and serve.

3 PRAWN & WATERMELON SALAD

Make a vinaigrette by mixing the juice of 1 lime with 5ml (1 tsp) runny honey, 45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil and salt and black pepper to taste. In a salad bowl or platter, combine 500g peeled and cooked prawns with 1 thinly sliced red onion, 4 cups seeded and diced watermelon, 2 seeded and finely chopped green chillies and 2 diced avocados. Toss the vinaigrette through the salad and sprinkle with 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander. Chill for 10 minutes before serving.