Melon, Cucumber & Corn Salad with Zucchini-Lime Vinaigrette
This is an August salad if there ever was one! We are harvesting the first of the summer corn and melons at the farm and I could not wait to create a tasty and refreshing salad for our CSA members who will be getting all the ingredients for this recipe in their veggie boxes this week. With the perfect crunch from cucumbers, sweetness from melons and corn, spice from jalapeño peppers, saltiness from some local prosciutto and the most zesty and refreshing zucchini-lime dressing this salad is on point! For my vegetarian friends out there, you can simply leave out the prosciutto and replace it with some crumbled feta cheese to fill in for the saltiness you’ll be missing from the meat. And can I just give a huge shout out to Amy Chaplin from Whole Food Cooking Everyday for giving my the idea to make a zucchini vinaigrette!! What a mind blowing and delicious way to use up all that summer zucchini that’s overflowing the farmers markets these days. I hope you all enjoy this salad and dressing as much as we do.
Happy August everyone!
Melon, Cucumber & Corn Salad with Zucchini-Lime Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Serves: 4
Zucchini-Lime Dressing- 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces (no need to peel) about 1 1/2 cups worth
- 2 scallions, finely chopped, white and pale green parts
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (if you're sensitive to heat add half of the jalapeño pepper, making sure to remove all the seeds)
- 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 ears of corn) no need to cook
- 3 cups cubed cantaloupe
- 1 medium-large cucumber, peeled into thin ribbons with a mandoline or vegetable peeler
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and sliced into thin rounds
- 3 ounces prosciutto, torn into small pieces (or substitute crumbled feta for a vegetarian version)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- flakey sea salt for serving
Preparation
- Prepare the dressing by combining all the ingredients in an upright blender and blending until smooth and creamy. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- In a large bowl, toss the corn kernels, cantaloup, cucumber and jalapeño together. Drizzle in half of the dressing and toss well. Add the prosciutto, cilantro, pepper flakes and sea salt. Drizzle with a little more dressing to taste and serve.
Notes
*Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.
Does the zucchini dressing taste like zucchini, or like the other yummy ingredients?
Oh man! So good! Substituted bacon for prosciutto but otherwise followed recipe and it was amazing!
OH WOW!!! This is amazing. And I could literally just drink the dressing, so delicious and it doesn’t even taste like zucchini. Thanks again for another incredible recipe Andrea.
Woohooo!!! So happy to hear!!! Yay!
I have been following your blog for years, have both your books and have thought about commenting but have just never ventured into doing so (ever, anywhere). This recipe changed all that. This is AMAZING. Just absolutely bursting with fresh, delicious flavor. Thank you. Thank you for the seemingly never-ending hard work you do and the inspiration you provide.
Ahh! This makes me SO happy!!! Thank you for commenting. I’m so glad you loved this salad as much as we do. xo
We made this for company and it was a hit! So delicious! We left out the prosciutto and instead added shrimp and feta. I also forgot how tasty cantaloupe is!