Tomato- and melon salad
When I think of the tomato- and melon salad, summer comes to my mind immediately. The golden orange of the melon goes beautiful with the sun-kissed red tomatoes, the white dots of the cheese and the little hint of chili in the bread crumbs. Every mouthful is pure sunshine on your plate.
Ingredients
- 2 slices day-old ciabatta, torn into small pieces
- 4 Tblsp olive oil, divided 2:2 extra virgin
- salt and pepper, freshly ground
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped and finely chopped plus some extra for garnish
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1/2 orange melon (Spanspek or Cantaloupe) deseeded, peeled and thinly sliced or cut into bite-size pieces or scooped with a melon baller
- 2 large tomatoes, sliced or 250 g cherry tomatoes halfed
- 2 feta rounds, crumbled or 250 g Bocconcini (mini mozzarella balls) or 1 large mozarella ball in brine, rinsed and torn into pieces
- 2 tbsp crema di balsamic or basil pesto
- some fresh basil leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick pan and add the ciabatta, mix and continue stirring until the bread gets slightly cross.Add the chili flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4 grinds black pepper, rosemary and garlic.Stir for another 2 minutes and then take the mixture off the heat to let it cool down before you blitz it in the blender to coarse crumbles.Arrange the tomatoes on 4 plates, season with some salt and pepper.Top the tomatoes with the melon slices and feta (or mozzarella) .Drizzle the remaining olive oil over, followed by the bread crumbles.Then top with the crema di balsamic or basil pesto and scatter the fresh basil leaves over if you use them.If the pesto is too thick, you can loosen it with some extra olive oil.I like to finish with another grind of black pepper.Sometimes I scatter some pomegranate seeds over to make it even more special.