Ham and Melon Tapas
July 7, 2008 – 3:23 pm
Oh the wonders of Spain! Part of their culture is to have a late, late, late dinner. Why? they have tapas (starters) some hours before.
Tapas are small servings of wonderful dishes both hot and cold. Some are as simple as spiced olives, cheeses and sliced chorizo, and some more elaborate as tortilla, fried scallops or pork dishes.
Our dish is inspired in Jamon con Melon ( literally translates as melon with ham). The traditional tapas uses Jamon Serrano, a type of cured jam similar to the Italian Prosciutto and ripe cantaloupe.
It is quite expensive and is not readily available in generic grocery stores; I did find it online at La Tienda. It is Well worth the expense! We has fun and used what ham was on hand, a naturally cured cooked smoked ham , and It worked!
The traditional dish cuts the cantaloupe in wedges and drapes slices of ham on top. Our take is a fingerfood-like and cuts the cantelope and mellon to smaller bite-size pieces. Enjoy as an appetizer with some nice wine and other tapas.
Ingredients ( for 4 portions)
6 slices of serrano ham, or the ham of your choice
12 1-inch cubes of ripe cantelope
long toothpicks to secure
Take a slice of ham and cut legthwise, roll into a 1-inch curl and secure with a toothpick. Then take a cube of cantelope and secure
Repeat with the remaining ham and melon, sit on a pretty dish and ENJOY!
Stumble it!
