Les Brochettes Estivales Melon et Jambon Cru
Les Brochettes Estivales Melon et Jambon Cru·(lay bro-shet ess-tee-val meh-lohn ay zham-bohn crew)
L'Apéro Dînatoire: The Casual Friday Gathering
Bamboo skewers, chilled cantaloupe, and supermarket jambon cru: that is the entire strategy for Friday at six p.m. These anchor l'apéro dînatoire—a sprawling spread of finger foods meant to stretch late into the night. The secret here is minimalism: buy a fragrant melon, source paper-thin cured pork, and get out of their way. The magic lives entirely in the collision of sweet juice and salty animal fat. Keep the cantaloupe cold, tear the pork by hand, and start threading the sticks just as the first drinks are poured.
Before you start
You will need twenty-four small wooden skewers or toothpicks.
A melon baller is traditional, but a knife works just fine.
If you don't have a melon baller, simply cut the cantaloupe into 1-inch cubes. The flavor remains exactly the same.
Ingredients
- Tuscan cantaloupe1 large
- prosciutto crudo4 oz
- mini fresh mozzarella balls24 small
- fresh basil leaves24 small
- extra virgin olive oil1 tbsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Halve the melon, scoop out the seeds, and carve out twenty-four spheres with a melon baller.
If your melon isn't perfectly ripe—yielding to thumb pressure and smelling of heavy, sweet perfume at the stem—leave it on the counter for a day. The dish fails entirely if the fruit is crunchy.
- 02
Tear the prosciutto slices gently in half lengthwise to create long ribbons.
You want the ham to look ruffled and voluminous on the skewer, not flat.
- 03
Thread a basil leaf and a mozzarella ball onto a small wooden skewer, fold a ribbon of prosciutto accordion-style below it, and anchor the bottom with a melon ball.
The weight of the melon at the base makes them easy to hold and eat. Repeat until you have built all twenty-four skewers.
- 04
Arrange the skewers beautifully on a large serving platter, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and finish with a generous dusting of black pepper.
Do not add salt; the cured pork brings all the salinity you need. Serve cool, but not ice-cold, allowing the fat in the prosciutto to melt gently on the palate.
Notes
Skip the balsamic glaze.
If you have to drown your fruit in syrup, you bought the wrong fruit. Trust the French minimalism; the harmony relies entirely on the natural fructose of the melon and the savory cure of the pork.
Wait to assemble.
You can scoop the melon and drain the cheese a day in advance, but don't thread the skewers until an hour before serving, or the ham's salt will draw out the melon's juices and turn everything soggy.
From Cook French in America.