Melone Ghiacciato con Menta or Melon with Black Pepper and Mint
This refreshing dish comes to us from Bea Tassinari, our Country Coordinator in Italy, who also helps coordinate lunches at “the farm” our headquarters in Italy. Join us on the Bike Across Italy: Venice to Pisa, Venice to Florence, or the Whole Journey’s Culinary Delights Plus! the Farm tours and you might just get the chance to sample some.
This dish tastes and smells like summer and can be used as an appetizer, aperitif, or dessert.
Ingredients:
One Cantaloupe
Fresh ground black pepper
Fresh mint
A cold melon is preferable so refrigerate it overnight
Cut the melon in half and remove the seeds.
Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop the melon into bite size balls. Reserve the extra juice.
Dress the melon with fresh ground pepper
Add a generous portion of mint leaves.
Pour in extra juice stir and serve
Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva, is a white wine that pairs particularly well with this recipe when you are using it as an aperitif. If you decide dessert is the way to go, a good wine combination is Marsala di Sicilia or Porto (on our Cycling Sicily tour we taste Marsala wine at the famous Cantine Florio winery) .
Note: Overripe melon does not work as well because it tends to be too watery and the texture won’t allow for solid balls.
Buon Appetito