Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad with Mint Dressing

This Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad is light, tasty and refreshing. The salty prosciutto goes perfectly with the sweet melon and creamy goat cheese, topped with the bright taste of the mint dressing. 

I don’t remember the first time I ate melon wrapped with prosciutto but I’m guessing it was when we were living in France in the early 1990s. Such a revelation! Salty ham with sweet, ripe summer melon is divine and, as far as we are concerned, also the perfect starter just on its own. 

This salad takes that simple starter and makes it into a whole meal (or a bigger starter) by adding salad greens, goat cheese and a delicious mint dressing. It’s the sort of dish that would go over big at an outdoor barbecue, potluck picnic or baby shower. Which is why I am sharing it today. 

Since way back in 2014, I’ve been sharing recipes on the first Wednesday of every month with a group its founder named Foodie Extravaganza party. Lauren was a food blogger (and cattle rancher) when she started the group but has since become a photographer (and still a rancher.) After many years of wanting a little one, she and her husband were recently blessed with a baby girl they’ve named Lucy so this month our theme is A Virtual Baby Shower! Make sure you scroll down to see what everyone is bringing to the party to welcome Lucy!

Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad with Mint Dressing

With the ingredient amounts below, you can serve 2-3 as a main course, 4-6 as a starter or 14 as part of a party buffet where each person gets one slice of the melon along with some of the accompanying greens, ham and cheese. This recipe is adapted from one on Food.com.

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 small Charolais melon (or your favorite sweet summer melon) 

6 thin slices (2 1/2 oz or 70g) Italian Prosciutto 

7oz or 200g log chèvre aka goat cheese, well chilled (15 minutes in the freezer makes it easier to slice neatly)

6 oz or 170g frisée or your favorite strongly flavored salad greens

For the dressing – makes about 3/4 cup or 180ml:

1/2 cup, gently packed, or 15g fresh mint leaves, divided

1/4 cup or 60ml white wine or apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup or 120ml olive oil 

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 generous pinch fine sea salt

A couple of good grinds of fresh black pepper

Method

To make the dressing, blend the rest of the ingredients along with half of the mint leaves until smooth. Put the dressing in the refrigerator to chill. 

Cut the goat cheese into circles and then cut the circles in half again. 

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the melon into 14 slices and then cut the flesh off of the peel with a sharp knife. 

Arrange your greens on a large platter and top them with the melon slices. 

Rip the prosciutto in pieces and tuck them, along with the goat cheese semi circles, on top and amongst the melon slices. 

Add the reserved mint leaves to the top of the salad. 

Drizzle with mint dressing to serve.

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, today my Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating the birth of sweet Lucy, the much-loved, long-awaited daughter of the group's founder, Lauren. We wish Lucy and her parents a long and happy life together! Check out all the tasty dishes we are sharing for this virtual baby shower!

• Classic Carol Chicken Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Cobb Dip from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Coconut Filled Tartlets - East Indian from Sneha's Recipe
• Melon Prosciutto Chevre Salad with Mint Dressing from Food Lust People Love
• Pink and Blue Sandwich Cake Cookies from Our Good Life 
• Red Velvet Cupcakes from Passion Kneaded
• Toasted Sesame Seed Crackers from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tortilla Taco Cups from Magical Ingredients

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

Pin this Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad with Mint Dressing!

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Greens and Pea Manicotti

Use your favorite greens to make Greens and Pea Manicotti, a lovely savory vegetarian main course of crepes filled with peas, goat cheese, ricotta and, of course, greens, covered in a fragrant tomato sauce.

When my elder daughter came home from university the first summer after her freshman year, she surprised me with the news that she had become a vegetarian. But I guess I really wasn't that surprised since I knew that her new best friends were mostly vegetarian and that sort of thing rubs off on a person.

When her little sister followed in her footsteps, not just to the same school, but into vegetarianism, no surprise at all there. Frankly, I think it's a great thing - I'm not ready to go there yet, but I fully supported their choice. Neither of them is completely vegetarian these days, but we do eat more meatless meals because I discovered during those years that there are many delightful recipes without it.

Several years ago, while I was researching recipes on the internet, I came across what sounded like a rich, satisfying vegetarian dish and I couldn't wait to give it a try. I had to make a few changes because of what I had available but it was very tasty and I've made it again since.

It would be perfect for a Meatless Monday dinner or a Lenten meal for those who fast from meat, whether all month or just on Fridays. If you are looking for more meatless casserole recipes, make sure to scroll down and check out the link list from my Sunday Supper friends.

Greens and Pea Manicotti

My greens and pea manicotti is adapted from this recipe here. I love her writing. She's funny and she has great recipes so go check her out. Here's my favorite post!

Ingredients
For the filling:
3 oz or 85g goat cheese
4 1/2 oz or 125g fresh ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
5 oz or 140g raw greens of your choice (spinach, kale, silver beets, etc.)
6 oz or 180g frozen peas, thawed
1 large clove garlic
1 whole egg
Zest of one lemon
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 oz or 225g freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup or 60ml whipping cream
Sea salt
Black pepper

For assembly:
1 1/2 cups or 240ml tomato sauce – store bought will work if you have a favorite or make this sauce, from my eggplant parmigiana recipe. It freezes very nicely so the extra will come in handy for future meals.
10 6-inch or 12cm crêpes (recipe here)
1 oz or 55g freshly grated Parmesan

Method
Clean your greens thoroughly and remove any thick stems. Rinse them at least three times.

These are silver beet greens but I've also made this with kale.

Yes, I know the package might say pre-washed. It’s lying to you. Just like when I told my mother I had vacuumed but I really just ran the vacuum cleaner around to make the lines on the shag carpet without turning it on. (Fact: The vacuum cleaner is much easier to move when it’s not sucking.)

Steam the greens for several minutes with the lid on.

Remove and cool by immersing in some cool water. Spin them dry in a salad spinner or a dry tea towel. If they still feel too wet, give them a squeeze with your two hands.

Using a fork, break your goat cheese and ricotta up into small crumbles. Chop your clove of garlic.

Add the greens, peas and garlic to your food processor and pulse. If you hear a clank, clank, clank at this point, realize that your peas are still frozen.

Pour the whole mess into a microwaveable bowl and thaw properly this time. Jeez. Okay, try again. You are looking for a rough mixture that still has lumps and bumps.

Now add the lemon zest and Parmesan to your other cheeses.

In a bowl big enough for thorough stirring, add the cheese mixture to the greens and pea mixture. Sprinkle on your salt and pepper. Give it a good stir. Taste it and add more salt, if necessary.

Now add the egg and stir again.

Add the cream and stir again. Your filling is ready and just needs to hang out for a while in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to develop.

Time to get on with the tomato sauce and the crêpes. By the time you have those two done, the filling should be ready to use. Follow these two recipes here and here. Make double the crêpe recipe and you can easily half the tomato sauce. Or make the full batch and freeze some. Go ahead, get on with them. We’ll wait here.

Just twiddling while we wait.

Okay, so, when you are ready to fill your crêpes and bake, preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Spray a little Pam in your baking dish or drizzle in a little olive oil and rub it around. Cover the bottom of your pan with about a 1/2 cup or 120ml of your tomato sauce.

Put about a 1/4 cup or 60ml of filling on the top crêpe and spread it along the middle. Fold one side over and then the other side.

Lay it in the pan, ends side down. Continue filling the crêpes until all the filling is gone. Extra crêpes can be wrapped in cling film and frozen.

Top the manicotti with another cup or 240ml of tomato sauce and then a good sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the sauce and cheese are bubbling. Serve with a side green salad or vegetable of our choice.

Enjoy!

Meatless Meals for Lent

• Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Fresh Herb Bread Pudding by Wholistic Woman
• Baked Eggplant Parmesan Casserole by Jersey Girl Cooks
• Baked Mushroom Fettuccine by Delaware Girl Eats
• Cheesy Mushroom Marsala Pasta Casserole by Hot Eats and Cool Reads
• Greens and Pea Manicotti by Food Lust People Love
• Leek and Swiss Chard Gratin by Caroline’s Cooking
• Mushroom Breakfast Casserole by Brunch-n-Bites
• Raisin Bread Cheddar Strata by Pies and Plots
• Ricotta Pasta Frittata by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Roasted Vegetable Lasagna by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tex Mex Vegetarian Bake Freestyle Recipe by Positively Stacey
• Spaghetti Squash Parmesan Casserole by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Spinach Ravioli Bake by Our Good Life
• Spinach Ricotta Pasta Bake by The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Tuna Noodle Casserole from Scratch by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Vegetarian Baked Pasta with Spinach and Gruyère by Cooking Chat
• Vegetarian Enchiladas Recipe with Chickpea Curry by Sunday Supper Movement
• Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie by Simple and Savory
• Veggie & Quinoa Baked Stuffed Peppers by Hardly A Goddess

Pin it!

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Caramelized Garlic Chèvre Stuffed Bread #BreadBakers

Caramelized garlic and chèvre - goat cheese - fill this wonderful savory loaf that is then topped with more cheese. Set this on your brunch table and watch it disappear!

Just the words caramelized garlic chèvre stuffed bread make my mouth water. You should have smelled the house while the garlic was caramelizing in butter and then while the loaf was baking! Pretty much torture, but fortunately there was relief in sight.

This month my Bread Bakers group is featuring garlic in honor of National Garlic Day on the 19th of April at the instigation of bread baker extraordinaire and our host this month, Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories. You might recall that I participated in Garlic Day celebrations the last two years, making slow-roasted lamb with 40 cloves of garlic in 2014 and garlicky lobster shrimp scampi in 2015. This year time got away from me so I was grateful to Karen for making sure that one of my favorite national food days did not go by uncelebrated in this space.

This recipe was adapted from Thyme For Cooking.

Ingredients
For the dough:
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 packet rapid rise yeast (1/4 oz or 7g)
1/4 cup or 60ml water
1/8 cup or 30ml milk
1/8 cup or 30ml olive oil, plus a little extra to oil the bowl
1 egg
1 egg yolk (save white for glaze)
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups or 150g whole wheat bread flour
1 cup or 125g strong white bread flour

For the filling:
3 1/2 oz or 100g cloves garlic
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For assembly:
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
8 1/2 oz or 240g goat cheese (I used a mix of fresh and slightly aged.)
1 egg white, beaten

Method
In large bowl, dissolve sugar in water and sprinkle in yeast. It should foam up within a few minutes. If it does not, get some new yeast and start again.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, oil, egg, egg yolk, and salt to combine. Add this to the yeast mixture with the whole wheat bread flour and stir well.

Add in about three quarters of the white bread flour and mix to make a soft dough.

Turn it out onto lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding more of the remaining flour if the dough is too sticky.

Oil your mixing bowl and pop the dough back in, turning the ball to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest for 20-25 minutes. When you are using rapid rise yeast, this takes place of the first rise. If you do substitute regular yeast, leave to rise until doubled.

While the dough is resting, we’ll caramelize the garlic. Cut the fatter cloves in half and put them all in a pan with a tight fitting lid, with the water, butter, olive oil, sugar and a sprinkle of salt.

Cook  covered over a medium heat for a few minutes until the garlic softens. Remove the cover and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, keeping a careful eye out for burning, until all the water has evaporated and the garlic has turned a lovely golden color. Remove from the heat. Add a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

To assembly the loaf, roll the dough out into a rectangle of about 12x17 in or 30x43cm.

Spread the mustard up the middle of the rectangle and then scatter on the caramelized garlic.

Starting near one end, use a sharp knife to cut diagonal strips all the way along the sides, up to the filling.

Crumble your goat cheese and set aside a good handful for topping. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbles on top of the mustard/garlic.

Fold one end in and then brush the top with the beaten egg white.

Fold the strips up and over, alternating sides, brushing the tops in between with egg white to help the strips stick together.

When you get near the other end, fold it in.

Then continue brushing with egg white and folding the strips over until all of the filling is covered. Carefully transfer the loaf to a lined baking pan. You can, of course, do the shaping on the lined baking pan but then you have to be very careful when cutting the dough strips that you don’t cut your silicone liner or parchment paper.

Brush the whole top again with the whisked egg whites. Set in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes, then preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When the oven reaches temperature, bake the loaf for about 25-30 minutes or until it is lovely and golden.

Remove the loaf from the oven and sprinkle on the reserved cheese crumbles.

Return it to the oven for another 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is slightly melted and just starting to brown in places. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

How will you celebrate National Garlic Day? May I suggest you bake some delicious garlicky bread?

• Black Garlic Parmesan Sourdough Bread from Magnolia Days
• Buttery Garlic Cheddar Rolls from Kylee Cooks
• Buttery Garlic Knots from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Buttery Garlic Pull Apart Bread from Cook's Hideout
• Caramelized Garlic Chèvre Stuffed Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Cheddar, Garlic and Jalapeño Beer Bread from A Palatable Pastime
• Cheddar Garlic Dinner Rolls from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Cheese and Garlic Biscuits from A Baker's House
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Garlic Rolls from Herbivore Cucina
• Domino's Style Garlic Bread from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Easy-Peasy Garlicky Mini Rolls from G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Garlic Batard from Hostess at Heart
• Garlic & Gorgonzola Focaccia from Baking in Pyjamas
• Garlic, Herbs and Cheese Bread from La Cocina de Aisha
• Garlic Naan with Green Chiles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Garlic Pull Apart Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Garlic Sunflower Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Gluten Free & Vegan Garlic Breadsticks from What Smells So Good?
• {Gluten Free} Seeded Black Garlic Flat Bread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Green Garlic Parathas - Flat Bread from Sneha's Recipes
• Herbed Garlic Butter Garland Bread from Ruchik Randhap
• Multi Grain Garlic Naan from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pissaladière from The Bread She Bakes
• Roasted Garlic Focaccia from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Triple Garlic Knots from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Whole Wheat Garlic Ciabatta Bread from Cooking Club

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send me an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

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Chive Boursin Muffins #MuffinMonday

Savory muffins are a wonderful addition to a lunch or dinner table breadbasket.  Or make them in a mini muffin pan to serve with evening cocktails. 

This week our ingredient of choice was supposed to be blueberries but regular readers will recall that last week I baked in a bit of a panic as I rushed off to a blog workshop.  The ingredient for last week was cinnamon and I thought blueberries would go nicely.  And indeed they did!  But when I sent in the photo to my fellow Muffin Monday baker, Anuradha, the return email said, “Is this one for next week?”  I must confess that my response was a curse word.  One that is allowed on US television, but still.  And then she kindly agreed to change this week’s ingredient to chives!  I love those green onion tops and almost always have some in the vegetable drawer.  They liven up salads, add color to stews and who doesn’t like a healthy helping on a baked potato?   They are also one of the main flavor boosters (or perhaps their slim French cousins, ciboulette) of herb and garlic goat cheese.  Strictly speaking, I didn’t use the name brand Boursin, but Chive Herb and Garlic Goat Cheese muffins seemed an unbearably long title.  Boursin gives the correct idea of how these muffins will taste and, of course, YOU can use the real thing.

If you are serving a savory muffin to non-Americans, you might want to prepare them for that fact.  Not to paint whole nations with one sugary brush, but I have been informed that the rest of world assumes a muffin is sweet.  Was my informant correct?  I’d love to hear your opinion and experiences.

Ingredients

2 cups or 250g flour
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1/2 teaspoon regular sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
1 cup or 240ml milk
Medium bunch of chives or green onion tops (Mine weighed about 3/4 oz or 20g after I cut the white bulby ends off.)
200g herb and garlic goat cheese – slightly frozen.  This is very soft cheese so it doesn’t really crumble or cut well.  I find that if I freeze it for an hour or so, I can cut it up with a sharp knife just before folding it into the muffin batter. That way you still end up with some solid bits of cheese.

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup normal or 24-cup mini muffin pan by greasing it thoroughly or spraying with non-stick spray.

Chop your chives.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, chives and salt flakes and stir well.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, oil and eggs.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.

Chop your sort of frozen cheese into crumbles and small chunks.

Fold the cheese into the batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

For full sized muffins, bake in the preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Mini muffins will take less time so keep an eye on them.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins to cool completely.  Because of the cheese, you may have to run a knife around some of the muffins to remove them nicely.

See that golden brown?  Best part of the whole muffin!

These go just as wonderfully with a glass of beer or wine as they do with a cup of coffee.