Time to Have Some Summer Salads

In these days temperatures have reached for me outrageous 38°C, cooking and baking are a difficult subject around here. So, what is better than a nice mixed salad? Refreshing and nutricious, leaving your palate satisfied and your tummy happy but not heavy.
The choice out there is really great, you can choose the base - pasta, rice, couscous, or only vegetables - add whatever else you want - fruit, vegetables, meat, fish. It's up to you to create and invent something delicious.
My choice this time was a rice salad as a base, and I added some cheese and prosciutto for protein part, cantaloupe melon for some vitamins, and fresh contrast and colour (yeah, I'm leaving for summer holiday at the seaside and taking some beta-carotene is a must if you want a nice tan).
And isn't it just such a nice way to serve it in melon "bowls", whether you are hosting some friends or just making your everyday dinner table a bit more beautiful?
I prepared only half of the quantity and managed to have lunch two days in a row.
And a few words about melons:
Cantaloupe melons are a good source of potassium, Vitamin A (169 μg per 100g), Vitamin C (36.7 mg per 100g), and folate. The potassium is helpful in preventing kidney stones and cantaloupes in general are a useful laxative. They are a source of polyphenol antioxidants, chemicals which are known to provide certain health benefits to the cardiovascular system and immune system. These chemicals are known to up regulate the formation of nitric oxide, a key chemical in promoting health of the endothelium and prevention of heart attacks.
It's 90% water, so 100 g = 30 kcal.



RICE SALAD IN AND WITH MELON

*4 servings
250 g Basmati rice
2 small melons (Cantaloupe)
150 g Parma Prosciutto
200 g Provolone cheese
10-12 leaves of fresh mint
3-4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper

Boil rice in salted water until al dente. Drain and cool under cold running water. Spread on a clean kitchen towel to dry.

Cut melons in half, remove seeds with a spoon, scoop the flesh and place in a bowl.
Put the melon shells aside for later.

Wash, dry and cut into tiny stripes the mint leaves. Dice the cheese into 1/2 cm (1/5") cubes. Cut the sliced prosciutto into 1cm large stripes. Add everything into the bowl with melon.


Add the rice as well, season with EVOO, salt and pepper, and stir well.

Serve in melon "bowls".




INSALATA DI RISO NEL MELONE

*per 4 persone
250g di riso Basmati
2 piccoli meloni
150 g di prosciutto crudo a fette
200 g di provolone (piccante, ma io ho preferito quello dolce)
un ciuffo di menta fresca
olio extravergine d'oliva
sale, pepe

Portate a ebolizione abbondante acqua in una pentola, aggiungete una manciatina di sale e lessate il riso. Scolatelo al dente, raffreddatelo sotto il getto dell'acqua fredda corrente e stendetelo ad asciugare su un telo.
Tagliate i meloni a metà ed eliminate i semi e i filamenti, aiutandovi con un cucchiaio. Prelevate con uno scavino la polpa e trasferitela man mano in una terrina. Tenete da parte i mezzi meloni svuotati.
Lavate e asciugate 10-12 foglie di menta e tagliatele a listarelle. Riducete il provolone a dadini di 1/2 cm circa di lato. Tagliate il prosciutto crudo a striscioline di 1 cm nell senso della largezza.
Mettete tutti gli ingredienti nella terrina con la polpa di melone e mescolate.
Aggiungete anche il riso ben asciutto, condite con 3-4 cucchiai di olio, sale e pepe e mescolate.
Riempite i mezzi meloni svuotati con l'insalata di riso e decorate con qualche foglia di menta e servite.



SALATA OD RIŽE U DINJI

*za 4 osobe
250 g riže Basmati
2 male dinje
150 g pršuta
200 g tvrdog sira (npr. Provolone)
10-12 listića svježe mente
djevičansko maslinovo ulje
sol i papar

Skuhajte rižu u ključaloj slanoj vodi, ocijedite, ohladite pod mlazom hladne vode, pa osušite na čistoj kuhinjskoj krpi ili nekoliko komada kuhinjskog papira.
Prerežite dinje na pola, žlicom odstranite sjemenke, pa izdubite meso i stavite u zdjelu. Sačuvajte prazne polovice.
Mentu operite, osušite i narežite. Tanke kriške pršuta narežite na trakice širine 1 cm, a sir na kockice stranice 1/2 cm.
Pomiješajte sve sastojke u zdjeli s dinjom i dodajte rižu.
Začinite s 3-4 žlice djevičanskog maslinovog ulja, posolite i popaprite po ukusu.
Napunite prazne polovice dinje salatom i poslužite.