National Watermelon Day can create unexpected opportunities! Learn how to craft a darn delicious fancy appetizer that you’ll soon crave! From my book, “Canvas & Cuisine: Art of the Fresh Market”.
If you take that concept into your home kitchen, you give yourself permission to become creative in your cooking.
Just like Sue’s creativity on canvas, your cuisine will have a taste all its own!
For this dish, peppery, crisp radishes are elevated by pickling them in a quick brine.
I put these together with an Asian-flavored pesto on some crunchy crostini and you have a first-course appy that makes you say, “Whaaaaaaat!”
Pickled Beet & Watermelon Carpaccio from “Canvas & Cuisine: The Art of the Fresh Market”
Servings
A Crowd
Ready In:
30 minutes plus 1 hour or so for roasting
Good For:
Appetizer Salad
For pickled beets:
4 medium red beets, tops removed, scrubbed
4 medium golden beets, tops removed, scrubbed
½ red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
For vinaigrette:
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1 large orange, about ¼ cup
1 medium shallot, peeled, about 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
½ cup olive oil
For carpaccio:
6 thin slices prosciutto
¼ medium watermelon
½ fennel bulb, tough outer parts remove, (save a few of the top leaves for garnish)
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Preheat the oven to 350°.
Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and place them into a baking dish. Bake until the beets just begin to soften, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Remove the baking dish from the oven and cool the beets to room temperature. Remove the skin from the beets by rubbing with paper towels. Use a mandoline slicer to slice the beets as thin as possible. Place the beets into a bowl with red onion slices.
Whisk together the apple cider vinegar and granulated sugar in a separate bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the salt and pepper. Pour this liquid over the beets and onions and gently toss so that all the slices are coated in the brine. Set the bowl aside for at least 30 minutes. (You can cover and refrigerate the beets at this point for several days.)
Pour the balsamic vinegar and orange juice into a blender. Add the shallot and mustard. Pulse to emulsify. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Season with additional salt and pepper. Place your serving platter into the freezer to chill. Increase the oven temperature to 400°.
Place the prosciutto slices onto a parchment line baking sheet. Bake until the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cool the crisp prosciutto to room temperature. Cut the watermelon into ¼-inch slices. Use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter to cut medallions from the watermelon slices.
Use the mandolin slicer to thinly shave the fennel bulb. Remove your serving platter from the freezer and brush it with olive oil. Remove the beet slices from the brine. Lay the beets and watermelon onto the plater, slightly overlapping each round.
Break the prosciutto into pieces and scatter over the top. Scatter thin slices of fennel over all. Drizzle just a spoonful or two of vinaigrette over the carpaccio. Garnish with the fresh green leaves cut from the fennel.
An arranged salad is the perfect dish to bring to a summer potluck. One of my favorite arranged salads is the caprese. You know the one, slices of vine ripe tomatoes layered with wedges of fresh mozzarella and sprinkled with fresh-picked basil leaves. A sprinkle of salt and pepper, and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and the salad is complete.
What if we take that wonderful caprese salad and just tweak it a bit… or a lot! I was inspired by watermelon season and the bunches of beets I found at the farmers market. I thought, well why not? Why not add thin slices of watermelon and roasted beets to the salad. And when I did, I created a dish that everyone fell in love with. Not only is it beautiful, but the crisp bite of the watermelon adds a certain tang. The salad gets even better with a crumble of crisp bacon, and drizzle of citrus infused oil and vinegar.
Give this salad a try while the summer breezes are still warm, and the watermelon are ripe and juicy! To motivate you, here a few fun pics of the watermelon and salad dressing prep — doesn’t it make your mouth just water?
Watermelon and Beet Caprese Salad with Peach-Basil Vinaigrette
For salad:
6 medium beets
1 small seedless watermelon
6 to 8 medium vine-ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into thin rounds
1 bunch fresh basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
4 slices bacon, cooked, chopped
For vinaigrette
1 medium shallot, peeled and finely diced
1 ripe peach, peeled and finely diced
2 tablespoons, chopped fresh basil
¼ cup vinegar (I used peach infused white balsamic)
½ cup olive oil (I used lime-infused extra virgin olive oil)
Preheat the oven to 375°. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and place them into a baking dish. Bake until the beets just begin to soften, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Remove the baking dish from the oven and cool the beets to room temperature. Remove the skin from the beets by rubbing with paper towels. Use a mandolin to slice the beets as thin as possible.
Cut the watermelon into ¼-inch slices. Use a round cookie cutter to cut circles in the watermelon about the size of the beets and tomatoes.
Begin layering the salad. Lay a slice of tomato on the platter. Top with a slice of mozzarella, a round of watermelon and finally a sliced beet. Continue layering until the platter is filled. Tuck leaves of basil in and around everything. Sprinkle the salad with some of the salt and pepper. Top with bacon pieces. Chill the salad while you make the vinaigrette.
Place the shallot, peach and basil into a mason jar. Pour in the vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake to combine.
When you are ready to serve, use a spoon to drizzle some of the vinaigrette over the salad.
