Cantaloupe Carpaccio with Aniseed and Lime
This is a melon dish you can eat any time of day, not just for breakfast. It’s so good in fact, that I ended up eating two servings, mine and my husbands. As much as I try to talk him into eating melons of any variety and in all kinds of transformations, he politely turns it down, “it taste like perfume”. Not even a bite folks. It is a pretty floral dish with the super ripe melon and fennel fronds, but so beautiful especially if you are a melon lover like me, so light and refreshing yet clean and bold. The lime and toasted aniseed balances out the sweetness while bringing out the flavor of the cantaloupe. I added a few sprigs of fennel fronds that I had on hand, which really pulled it all together. The key to this dish is to slice the melon as thin as possible, but not too thin because it’ll fall apart. A vegetable peeler like this works perfect, you can find similar ones at any restaurant supply for around a dollar. I’ve had mine for 10+ years, including 4 restaurant stints and it’s still going strong (yes, it was used in the above photos too).
Don’t skip the salt and pepper, it really makes a difference. Just make sure it’s a nice finishing or a flake salt (see here for a quick description) but please, no table/iodized salt – I never use the stuff.
~Kelly
Countdown to Hapa Ramen 2 weeks + 2 days
