Jude
Here's what I ended up making:
Honeydew-Cucumber Salad with Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette
1 small honeydew melon (about 2 1/2 pounds) 1 English cucumber
DRESSING 8-10 mint leaves 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon honey 1/3 cup grapeseed oil salt and white pepper to taste
Cut mint leaves into chiffonade by stacking them on top of each other, rolling up into a cylinder, and thinly slicing.
Mix mint leaves, lemon juice, vinegar, lemon zest, mustard, honey, and a pinch each of salt and white pepper in a small jar. (If the honey is thick, you can heat the honey and vinegar together in in a microwave to facilitate mixing.) Once it's all thoroughly mixed together, add the oil, put the lid on the jar, and shake furiously to combine. Taste and add salt and white pepper as needed.
Cut the top and bottom off the honeydew. Rest the now-flat bottom on a cutting board. Cutting from top to bottom, remove the peel and discard. Cut the melon in half longitudinally. Scoop out the seeds from both halves and discard. Lay each melon half flat and cut into half-inch slices. For each half, you'll end up with a row of thin slices packed together like a deck of cards. Push against the slices to kind of collapse the deck of slices onto the cutting board, then cut lengthwise so that each slice is divided into four pieces.
Peel the cucumber and cut off the tips. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut the halves into quarter-inch slices. Mix together the melon and cucumber pieces. Pour some of the dressing on top and lightly toss. Taste and add more dressing as needed. I thought I made a lot more dressing than I needed; take care not to overdress.
Bob
