Fresh melon and prosciutto appetizers
Summer in coming to its end and I feel like I need it to last just a tiny bit longer. What better way to do it, than with food? One of my go-to instant summer foods is melon and prosciutto. Juicy and delicious with every single bite, just how I like it.
Here and there I like to add some fresh basil to give it that fresh herby nutty taste. Is herby even a word, or did I just made that up? 🙂
Just like most of the Italian appetizers, this one you can make almost all year round. All depends if you can get a good fresh melon in your stores. For melon and prosciutto appetizers we use cantaloupe, but I have also tried honeydew and it wasn’t bad, only a bit more delicate to wrap the slices of prosciutto.
Since melon in Italy is seasonal fruit, we eat it from spring to fall and in plenty of combination apart from standard melon and prosciutto.
So, let’s get ready to make our melon and prosciutto appetizer.
Cut the melon in half, clean the seeds with the spoon and slice it in nice slices. My measure is that each melon slice has to be able to stand and not flip sideways. If they flip, that means that they are too thin. 🙂
Now wrap the prosciutto around the melon. Sometimes if I don’t have prosciutto I use similar dry and smoked meat choices, such as speck.
I like to decorate the melon and prosciutto with fresh basil leaves, but you can also drizzle them with balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar cream reduction.
If I’m expecting guests and I’m preparing it for later I would wrap leave for the last inserting basil or balsamic vinegar as I will keep it in the fridge and I don’t want flavors to blend too much before serving time.
You will see once you start preparing it, melon and prosciutto appetizers will become your go-to Italian summer food.
HOW TO SERVE MELON AND PROSCIUTTO?
You can serve it on a big plate, or the ardesia stone which has become very popular lately. They can be laid down or you can have slices of melon placed upwords in circle (like I have).
HOW TO MAKE MELON AND PROSCIUTTO?
I love simple food and this is one of those types. The simplicity is in its making but the taste is super rich. A perfect combination of salty and juicy sweet. To make it slice the melon in half and clean out all the seeds with a spoon. Then cut nice slices, mine are usually two fingers wide. Remove the crust and place them on a plate. Not take a slice of prosciutto and wrap it aroud the slice of melon. It doesnt have to be perfect. Try to go diagonal so that you cover the major part of it.
HOW DO YOU EAT PROSCIUTTO AND MELON?
You can eat it by holding it in your hand and biting it or the more elegant version is that you cut the bite sizes with a knife and eat it with a fork.
WHAT CHEESE GOES WITH PROSCIUTTO AND MELON?
You can combine fresh cheeses such as mozzarella or buratta or you can go with hard cheeses as Grna Padano, Parmesan Cheese or some goat cheese.
WHAT FRUIT GOES WELL WITH PROSCIUTTO?
Since prosciuto is salty all watering fruits are welcome, so apart from all melons includin the watermelon you can pair it with fresh grapes or fresh figs.
WHAT BREAD GOES WITH PROSCIUTTO?
All types of bread go with prosciutto, however we prefer the sturdy type like homemade with crust kind. Where you cut nice thick slices and can layer your prosciutto on with all other goodies.
WHAT WINE GOES WITH PROSCIUTTO AND MELON?
When it comes to combination of prosciutto and melon Italians often coose white wine. The fruity flavors are exhalted more when combined with white wine.
Some of the most common wine choices are:
- Sauvignon – A wine with fresh acidity, intense and full with a very intense, aromatic herbaceous scent, with hints of nettle and gooseberry.
- Pinot Grigio – refined pear and apple aroma and full and persistent taste, round, delicate in the finish.
- Ribolla Gialla – Scented with white flowers and peach, with a fresh taste, ideal for hot summer days.
- Franciacorta Brut (sparkling wine) – Contrasts the fatness and sweetness of the dish.
IS PROSCIUTTO A KETO?
Yes, prosciutto is keto.It containts protein and fat as requested in Keto diet. However, don’t exaggerate with it as it contains also a very big quantity of salt.
IS PROSCIUTTO A PROCESSED FOOD?
Yes, prosciutto is processes food kown as cured meat. The traditional process is to take fresh meat and rub it with a salt letting it penetrate deep into the meat. once salted it is placed in smokers and after that its dried. The whole process lasts many months so that is also the reason of its cost.
CAN PROSCIUTTO BE COOKED?
Yes, prosciutto can be cooked. We do it as an Easter tradition and it’s delicious. You can also cook chunks of prosciutto in your beans. It will give them nice flavor.
WHAT MEAT GOES WELL WITH PROSCIUTTO?
I like to make chicken or pork wrapped in prosciutto and they work well together. Some people like to add it to the sea food but thats not my case.
HOW DO YOU SERVE PROSCIUTTO ON A CHEESE PLATTER?
Italians generally serve prosciutto in 2 ways, laying down the whole slice one next to other. Or the second way they would fold the slice in half and place it on plate. We don’t stack it one over other as they are super thin and tend to stick together if left on platter for a while.
Buon Appetito! 🙂
Did you make this Melon and Prosciutto appetizers recipe?
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Italian Kitchen Stories
If you are looking for a fast appetizer, then Melon and Prosciutto are your thing. Ideal for hot summer dinners or fast lunches where you want to get something fresh in under 10 minutes.
10 minPrep Time
10 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 100 grams of Prosciutto
- 1 melon (cantaloupe)
- Fresh Basil leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the melon on half.
- Remove the seeds and liquid with a big spoon.
- Slice the melon and cut of the crust (I prefer wider slices that can stand on a plate).
- Take slice of melon in one hand and slice of prosciutto in another and start to wrap prosciutto diagonally around melon.
- If your slices are short you can use two to cover the melon (at least the middle part).
- Place the wrapped melon slices on a plate or big platter and decorate with fresh basil leaves.
- Some people like to add freshly grated pepper or balsamic vinegar reduction. I like it plain.
Calories
Fat
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