Cantaloupe with Salami and Feta

Have you ever seen a cantaloupe the size of an apple?  Neither had I until just a week or two ago.  They are in season here in Egypt, or at least, I assume they are in season because, suddenly, they are everywhere and cheap.  I pick them up in the stores and surreptitiously give their stem ends a sniff, because ripe cantaloupes smell of cantaloupe.  Unripe ones smell of nothing.  I finally found a good one and brought it home.  Much to my surprise, it was green inside.  But the flavor, like the smell, is unmistakably cantaloupe, just like the sign said.

The plan:  An appetizer for our anniversary meal because the tiny cantaloupe is perfect for two people.

Ingredients

1 small cantaloupe or 1/4 of a regular one - any color works!

1/4 small purple onion

6 slices Italian salami

3 oz or 85g Feta cheese

1-1 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Method

Slice your onion very thinly and cover with the vinegar.  This takes the sharpness out of the onion, still leaving the lovely oniony flavor.

Cut your cantaloupe in half and then into wedges.  Scoop out the seeds and discard.  Using a sharp knife, cut the melon from the peel. 

Slice your salami diagonally and arrange about the salad plate. 

Cut your feta into small squares or crumble with a fork.   

Put the cantaloupe on the plates with the salami and scatter the feta over the salami and cantaloupe.

Add the olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt a couple of good grinds of fresh black pepper to the onion and mix well.   Drizzle this all over the cantaloupe, salami and cheese. 

Make sure you get a bit of everything in each bite you take: salami, cantaloupe, feta and onion.   The sweet melon is divinely offset by the rich salami and salty feta with the balsamic onion dressing.

Enjoy!

Update:  Maybe the season is short, because the pile in Carrefour today was much diminished.  They are still 5.95 Egyptian pounds per kilo (about US$1, so less than 50 cents a pound.)

What's left, nestled amongst the coconuts.