Prosciutto with Cantaloupe Melon Microgreens
Prosciutto e melone with the melon replaced by melon microgreens. Three ingredients, no cooking, and the most surprising thing on this list.
Grown on Johns Island · Delivered from James Island · Across the Lowcountry
Why cantaloupe melon works here
Cantaloupe melon microgreens taste cool and faintly sweet, somewhere between cucumber and the flesh near a melon rind. Which means they can do the job of the melon in the classic pairing, at a fraction of the volume, with a texture the fruit does not have. It is the dish that makes people ask what they are eating.
Ingredients
- •8 slices good prosciutto
- •2 generous handfuls of cantaloupe melon microgreens
- •Very good olive oil
- •Cracked black pepper
- •Flaky salt, only if the prosciutto is mild
- •A wedge of lime (optional)
Method
- Take the prosciutto out of the fridge 15 minutes ahead. Cold prosciutto tastes of almost nothing and the fat stays waxy.
- Drape the slices loosely across a platter or four plates. Do not lay them flat – you want folds and air.
- Cut the melon microgreens and pile them in and around the folds rather than scattering them on top.
- Thread olive oil over the whole thing and crack pepper across it.
- Taste one bite before you salt. Most prosciutto needs none. Serve straight away, with a squeeze of lime if you want the sweetness pushed forward.
Notes from the farm
- This lives or dies on the prosciutto and the olive oil. There is nowhere for either to hide.
- Burrata or a soft goat cheese instead of prosciutto makes an equally good vegetarian version.
- Cantaloupe melon is not our highest-volume variety, so text ahead if you want it for a specific occasion.
Questions
Does it really taste like melon?
Cool and faintly sweet rather than like ripe fruit – closer to the flesh near the rind. It is subtle, which is why it belongs in a three-ingredient dish where it can be noticed rather than in something busy.
What if cantaloupe melon microgreens are not available?
Pea shoots are the nearest substitute for sweetness, though they are grassier and lose the cool cucumber note that makes this work. Better to text 843.212.6932 and have a tray seeded toward your delivery.
Cut clamshells from $6, or a living tray you cut yourself · 843.212.6932
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