Summer is not quite here, but it’s getting closer, and so to is all the wonderful fresh, local produce we can introduce into our cooking.
Our guests at the Olive Press Kitchen are often surprised when we break out the fresh melons grown here in Tuscany. The most popular is known in English as Cantaloupe. Within a few weeks it will be served fresh on many menus throughout the region. Bright orange, dripping with flavor, it’s the perfect way to beat the coming heat.
The surprising part isn’t serving a melon as an opening course to a dinner meal, but it’s the prosciutto we wrap around the melon. When we prepare it in the cooking class many are surprised by the pairing. But the two flavors blend perfectly, the salty delicate flavor of the prosciutto with the sweet, juicy burst from the melon.
The best part is how easy it is to prepare prosciutto and melon. Buy a beautiful melon — ask the grower at a local farmers market to help you choose one — and also buy your favorite prosciutto, thinly sliced.
Some cooks delicately wrap it around each slice of melon, other layer it on once the melon is sliced and arranged on a plate. Or do it as we do, and add our secret ingredient so you can create a triangle of tastes on the dish.
Here at the Olive Press Kitchen we like to add to the plate a local fig, which is simple but adds to the complexity of flavors. Each component is distinct, each very local to our region and each adds it own balance of flavors and color.
We stress in the cooking class meals that we want you to feel comfortable to make when you go back home. There is no way to go wrong on this one! And this surprising mix will usually have your guests talking about it, which means you can tell them all about your trip to Tuscany and cooking class in Tuscany experience with the Olive Press Kitchen!
Enjoy!