Watermelon, Opera and Caruso

“Watermelon, it’s good fruit, you eat, you drink, you wash your face.”
Enrico Caruso

 
copyright, 2010, Maria Liberati
The most prominent, celebrated fruit of the summer in Italy; watermelon (cocomero). After a day in the hot summer sun, nothing seems to cool you down or refresh body and mind like a thin slice of cool, juicy watermelon.
I always take a suitcase full of flavors with us wherever we go, and a watermelon is one of my required items (would not recommend putting it in a suitcase) when we go to our country house in the mountains of Abruzzo or for a week at the beach, a watermelon is a necessary item in the months of June, July and August.
My favorite way to eat a watermelon is cold, after it has been chilled in a bucket of ice water or the refrigerator for an hour or two (although scientists in Italy have found that watermelon provides more antioxidants when eaten warm) just sliced, plain and simple, the way Mother Nature provides it. Eating watermelon is a bit like an opera (A fine one sung by Caruso maybe) you really shouldn’t  just slice and eat. Prep it (put in the fridge to become cold)-the overture, now it is ready-the first act is slicing into the watermelon, the second act is eating it, savoring each bite, the final act-disposing of the rinds…you can experience your own opera….
If you want to fool with Mother Nature, here are some recipes:
Fruit Skewers with Chocolate Nut Sauce

serves 4 people
4 bananas cut into 16 thick slices
1 whole, fresh pineapple cut into 16 squares
1/4 whole watermelon cut into 8 melon balls with a melon baller
2 whole kiwi, peeled, cut into 8 thick slices
1 whole cantaloupe cut into 16 melon balls or pieces
8 tablespoons of crushed hazelnuts
1- 16 ounce dark chocolate bar (of 70-90% cocoa)-melted over double boiler.
8 wooden skewer sticks
Alternate fruit on 8 wooden skewer sticks. Place 2 sticks full of fruit on each plate. Drizzle first-melted chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts, serve.
For more recipes get your copy of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions
Sept 9-12 see you at the Hudson Valley Wine Festival in Rhinebeck, NY in Dutchess County Fairgrounds. For info or sponsorship info contact Sue at: info@marialiberati.com or Andrea at: events.ar@gmail.com
Maria
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