Cantaloupe and Capsicum Dressing

Cantaloupe and Capsicum Dressing, a photo by CaptainShen on Flickr.

Today is a big concert at the farmhouse that the land-owner is hosting, with a couple of Texas country artists. A few weeks ago, she and some mutual friends were up at my house having lunch, and brought a cantaloupe along. I don't usually buy melon-- but I do like it. I tossed the cantaloup, balled, with some of my chopped pineapple-mint and some Black Lava Salt that I brought back from Hawaii, and that was it. Simple and quick. Everyone loved it, though, and requested that I make it again for the big concert cookout barbeque--...thing.

As I scoop-plopped each sphere into the bowl with a damp plop, I pondered the juice pooling at the bottom of the little valleys in the melon skin. I had a smidge of cantelope left on the rind, and quickly shaved it off and put it into a bowl with the juice. I added a few things, pureed, and suddenly-- magically-- a wonderful dressing emerged. It could be thicker (more cantalope and bell pepper for body) as a dip-- as I tried it on broccoli and was amazed. It would also be good as the base of a cold, hearty vegetable salad-- cold broccoli florets with chopped macadamia, for instance. Recipe (sort of) as follows:

Cantaloupe and Capsicum Dressing

1/4 C Cantelope
1/4 C Red Pepper, chopped
3 TB Olive Oil
1 tsp Lime Juice
2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar*
Many Mint Leaves (I used Pineapple-Mint)
Dash Salt
Dash Cayenne
Puree, add solids or liquids as desired to thicken or thin.

*it'd be great with all (3 tsp or 1 TB or so) lime instead of vinegar, but I ran out of lime.

Salted Cantaloupe and Mint