: Creamy Chicken and Cantaloupe Salad

There was a sale on cantaloupe down the street at the Farm market.

This is a refreshing salad with layer upon layer of contrasting tastes;   musky, sharp, and a little sweet. The curry is subtle. If you add a bit more heat with cracked black pepper when serving, it’s really, really nice.

Have you ever tried fresh cracked pepper on fruits? It’s quite nice on melons and strawberries. Melon, feta, and black pepper is a wonderful taste combination.

This will be my last summer salad this year. It will soon be time to make pumpkin pies, apple butter, and all those comforting and spicy Autumnal  foods.

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped cooked chicken.

1 granny smith apple, chopped, peel on

½ English cucumber, chopped, peel on

¼ cup diced red onion

½ cup chopped celery

½  cup sliced green onions

½  cup blanched cashews, coarsely chopped

½ cup plain yogurt

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tsp madras curry powder

1 tsp salt

Juice of half a lime

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 smallish cantaloupe, chopped

Lettuce leaves

Method:

Blanch cashews by placing them in a wide pan of boiling water for no more than 1 minute. Drain in colander and set on paper towel to cool. Once cool, coarsely chop (basically cut them in half, no smaller, as you want to bite into the cashew and know that it’s a cashew).

Mix everything, except lettuce. Cover and chill 1 hour. Serve on top of lettuce leaves and top with cracked black pepper (optional).

This would easily serve a dozen people as a small side salad (as in, a scoop at a potluck).

This is lovely for a summer side salad. Or make it a family meal by mixing in some prepared couscous or a small pasta. If eaten as a meal this way, it would serve 6-8.

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