San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Marinated Melon & Blackberry Salad

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Serves 4

If you find yourself with less-than-ripe melons, marinating them can enliven them. This salad uses coriander and Sichuan peppercorn­s to add citrus notes, or you can use fennel seed and lemon zest instead. Chilling is key for this salad to be refreshing. Recipe and photo by Christian Reynoso. small Piel de Sapo, Galia or any other melon of your choice (about 1 pound 12 ounces)

2 Persian, Japanese or lemon cucumbers (about 8 ounces) ¾ teaspoon coriander seeds

¾ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn­s

1½ teaspoons sugar

Sea salt whole limes, juiced (about ¼ cup juice) ounces ripe blackberri­es tablespoon­s raw almonds, roughly chopped 3 3 2

2 tablespoon­s extra-virgin olive oil

Lay the melon on its side with ends pointing to you and ahead. Make a ½-inch-deep slice on one end of the melon. Repeat on the other end. Stand the melon up on one cut flat end. Cut the peel off by making long, top-to-bottom slices until you have peeled the whole melon. Shave off a small piece of the exposed flesh and taste it; if it’s too firm and snappy, go over the melon with a peeler to reach riper, more tender flesh. Slice the melon in half lengthwise and, over a bin, scoop out and discard the seeds. Slice each cleaned melon half into 1-inch slices, about 6 per half. Then cut the slices into 1-by-1½-inch chunks and place in a large bowl.

Slice the ends off the cucumbers and peel strips of the skin off, exposing about half of the flesh. Cut the peeled cucumbers in half lengthwise and then into 1½-inch chunks and place in the melon bowl.

Heat a small pot over medium heat and add the coriander seeds and Sichuan peppercorn­s. Toast the spices until fragrant, about 2 minutes, and then transfer to a grinder and coarsely grind. Add the spices to a small bowl with the sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and lime juice. Whisk to dissolve. Add of the juice mixture to the melon and cucumber bowl and toss to coat. Add the blackberri­es to the small bowl with the remaining juice mixture. Use a fork to lightly mash the berries, then cover each bowl with plastic and let chill and marinate for 1 to 4 hours.

While the melon is marinating, heat a small pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the chopped almonds; stir with a spoon and fry until dark and golden. Turn off the heat and transfer the fried almonds and the oil to a small bowl. To assemble the salad: Re-toss the melon and cucumbers in their liquid and add the blackberri­es and their juice over the top. Garnish with the fried almonds and the olive oil and serve.

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