Summertime mixed melon salad combines fresh watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew loaded with marinated bocconcini, salty prosciutto, crispy homemade croutons and fresh cherry tomatoes. Fresh ripe melon balls paired with homemade arugula pesto soaked bocconcini, oven baked prosciutto and pesto brushed croutons makes for a refreshingly light summer salad served with a touch of cracked pepper and reduced balsamic.

A super fresh, super easy melon salad with all the goodness of some of our favourite summer items. Featuring our homemade arugula pesto as the star with soaked mozzarella balls and brushed croutons both loaded with pesto. Matched with sweet, juicy melons and of course a popular pairing of prosciutto. This salad comes together in no time. It’s great for picnics and gatherings because it can be enjoyed cold. If you are making this for an event, we recommend leaving the croutons and the prosciutto out and only adding them at the end once ready to eat that way they don’t soak up too much of the juices that the melons are releasing. Of course the balsamic drizzle is really optional but you’ll find there’s plenty of flavour from the pesto and fresh pepper is really all it needs. 

PREP + ASSEMBLE

This salad all comes together by having all the melon pre-cubed or as pictured rounded into different sized balls using a melon baller. From there we kept the melon in the refrigerator while we were getting everything else ready. This way, excess juices could release from the melons and be discarded so that we weren’t left with too much water in our finished salad. To serve the salad, we built it all directly into our serving bowls by spooning some of the melons, adding the tomatoes and next the soaked bocconcini. At this point you can quickly toss these directly in the bowl so that some of the pesto gets distributed to the melon and the tomatoes. We finished each bowl by adding some croutons and breaking up some crispy prosciutto into smaller bites. The last thing to do is season it with fresh pepper. It definitely adds a nice touch and brings it all together. 

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Print Recipe

Melon Salad

Mixed melon salad combines fresh watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew loaded with arugula pesto marinated bocconcini, salty prosciutto, crispy homemade croutons and fresh cherry tomatoes.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Additional Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Salads

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 2 cups watermelon cubed (or rounded with melon baller)
• 1 1/2 cups cantaloupe cubed (or rounded with melon baller)
• 1 1/2 cups honeydew melon cubed (or rounded with melon baller)
• 240 g bocconcini balls
• 2 cups arugula loose
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1/2 cup parmesan shredded
• 1 TBS pinenuts
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• pepper to taste
• olive oil

1/2 cups ciabatta bread, cut into cubes

• 10 slices of prosciutto
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
• optional: reduced balsamic

Instructions

• In a food processor: combine the arugula, basil, minced garlic, lemon juice, pinenuts and parmesan. Slowly add roughly 1/2 cup of olive oil, blending into a smooth consistency. Add more olive oil if needed. Season with pepper.
• Add the bocconcini to a sealable container cover with a few TBS of the arugula pesto, and add more olive oil to ensure they are well covered. Shake or stir to cover entirely. Refrigerate for minimum 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Toss the cubed bread with 2 TBS of the arugula pesto on the baking tray using your hands to mix and cover. Spread out the croutons ensuring not to overlap. On the same tray load on the slices of prosciutto. Bake for 5 minutes or until the croutons appear golden.
• To serve: divide the melon amongst bowls, add the tomatoes, bocconcini, and croutons and prosciutto. Season with fresh cracked pepper and reduced balsamic. Enjoy!