insalata di pomodori, avocado, cetriolo limone e melone / tomato, avocado, lemon cucumber and cantaloupe salad

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Remember the beautiful Blush tomatoes from my recent roasted corn salad? I didn't use the whole basket then, so I came up with another combination where the pretty pomodori could shine. The suggestion came from this week CSA box, where once again I found some lemon cucumbers (they are pretty too, aren't they?) and a perfectly ripe cantaloupe.

A short detour. Since I heard the word cantaloupe for the first time, I have been curious about its origins. An online search returns a lot of pages, but a couple of sentences recur like a refrain, which always makes me a bit suspicious. This is one: "The cantaloupe was named after the commune Cantalupo in Sabina, in the Sabine Hills near Tivoli, Italy, a summer residence of the Pope." Cantalupo is indeed in the Sabine Hills, but is not near Tivoli. My father was born and grew up in Poggio Catino and my mother grew up in Casperia. As you can see from the map below, both villages are very close to the pin labeled A which represents Cantalupo. To find Tivoli, you have to go down and to the right, above the blue mark SS5. And why use Tivoli as a reference when Rome is equidistant?

Also, if Cantalupo had been "a summer residence of the Pope," I believe the fact would be mentioned on this page, which summarizes the history of the village, or on this page, which details the history of its palace (I consulted also another document on the same subject). It isn't and therefore I consider the claim unsubstantiated¹. Note that Cantalupo, like a good portion of central Italy, was part of the Papal State for several centuries, until the unification on Italy in 1861.

It is true that a group of melons (Cucumis melo) is called Cantaloupensis. However, according to this page and others, the European cantaloupe is different from the North American cantaloupe:

Taxonomically, Cucumis melo is further divided into different groups. Cantaloupensis is the true cantaloupe, which is medium sized, warty or scaly, common in Europe, but not grown commercially in America.

The Reticulatus group of melons—the most commonly grown—is easily identified by its netted skin and is called netted or summer melon. This group includes Galia and Charentais melons as well as what we call cantaloupe. In America, the terms "muskmelon" and "cantaloupe" are used interchangeably, yet "cantaloupe" is more common. When ripe, these melons are aromatic and the vine "slips" off from the fruit.

Back to Cantalupo, I am still wondering why I had never heard about the connection between the village and melons. After all, as a child and teenager, every summer I spent a month in my father's village, during melon season. We had melone e prosciutto quite often for dinner. Maybe the answer is simply that I don't remember. 

In the Tuscan Horticultural Society Bulletin of 1887, I have found a clue suggesting that maybe there is nothing wrong with my memory. In the paragraph titled Origin of the Cantaloup Melon, there is this sentence: Ora di questo popone, così ricercato in Francia, a Cantalupo non hanno neppure la memoria (Now, of this melon so sought after in France, in Cantalupo they have no memory). The paragraph that precedes this statement has at least one historical error, which casts a bit of a shadow on this source. So, I end up where I began: skeptical and wondering. In the meantime, Cantalupo seems to have remembered its connection with a prized fruit, and both last year and this year, at the end of August, a festival dedicated to the fruit was held in the village.

If you have information that can help shed some light on my quandary, let me know. End of the detour.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Tomato, avocado, lemon cucumber and cantaloupe salad

Back to the salad, here are the ingredients I used:

• 10 Blush tomatoes
• an avocado
• a lemon cucumber
• 10 oz. cantaloupe — half of a small cantaloupe
  
• sea salt
• freshly squeezed lemon juice (succo di limone)
  
• basil chiffonade

In this salad, I paired tomatoes and cucumbers, a classic combination, though the varieties of both elements made it already "special." Cut each Blush tomato in half lengthwise and then cut each half into three pieces crosswise. Peel and dice avocado. Peel and slice lemon cucumber. Cut cantaloupe into slices, then remove the rind from each slice and cut into bite-sized pieces. Put all the ingredients in a bowl.

Because of the flavors involved and of the avocado, I decided that this salad needed no olive oil. A little sprinkling of salt, a nice squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of basil chiffonade is all that I added, then tossed. The result was refreshing and tasty to the palate and pleasant to the eye.

This is a simple dish that I share mostly as an invitation to be creative with available seasonal ingredients. Look at what you have in your CSA box or what is available at the farmers' market nearest to you and start experimenting with salad compositions. Have fun!

¹ The current summer residence of the pope is Castel Gandolfo, in the area near Rome called Colli Albani. According to this page the first pope to use the palace as a summer residence was Urban VIII Barberini (1623-1649). Thanks to Frank for his note reminding me to add the information.

This post is my contribution to edition #298 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester.

This post contains the roundup of the event. 

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

insalata di pomodori, avocado, cetriolo limone e melone

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avocado, tomato, cucumber, melon, salad

insalata di pomodori, avocado, cetriolo limone e melone

Vi ricordate i bellissimi pomodori Blush che ho usato di recente in un'insalata di mais? Per prepararla non ho utilizzato tutto il cestino e quindi ho inventato un'altra combinazione per loro. Il suggerimento è venuto dalla mia cassettina dove ho trovato di nuovo alcuni cetrioli limone e un meloncino maturo.

Nella versione in inglese del post parlo un po' del nome del melone che ho usato, che qui si chiama cantaloupe. I vari tipi di melone sono divisi in tre gruppi, uno dei quali si chiama Cantaloupensis, nome derivato dal paese di Cantalupo in Sabina. Questa cosa mi ha sempre incuriosito un po' perché entrambi i miei genitori sono sabinesi e da ragazzina passavo il mese di Agosto a pochi chilometri da Cantalupo, ma non mi ricordo di aver mai sentito parlare del melone di Cantalupo. Il che naturalmente non vuol dire che non sia vero. Ho fatto un po' di ricerche su internet e ho scoperto che il melone di Cantalupo non viene coltivato commercialmente in America, per cui il nome cantaloupe non è applicato correttamente.

Ho anche trovato una nota in un paragrafo dedicato alle origini del "popone Cantaloup" nel Bulletino della Società toscana di orticultura del 1887 che dice: Ora di questo popone, così ricercato in Francia, a Cantalupo non hanno neppure la memoria. Il paragrafo precedente contiene almeno un errore storico, quindi prendo l'affermazione con un po' di beneficio d'inventario. Certamente mi piacerebbe andare a fondo nella mia ricerca e se avete notizie da contribuire, fatemelo sapere.

Questi sono gli ingredienti che ho usato per l'insalata:

• 10 pomodori varietà Blush
• un avocado
• un cetriolo limone
• 280 g melone — metà di un piccolo melone
  
• sale fino, q.b.
  
• succo di limone
• basilico tagliato a chiffonade

In questa insalata ho sposato pomodori e cetrioli una coppia classica, ma le varietà particolari che ho usato la rendono speciale. Tagliare ciascun pomodoro Blush a metà per lungo e poi tagliare ogni metà in tre pezzi per largo. Sbucciare e tagliare a dadi l'avocado. Sbucciare e tagliare a pezzi il cetriolo limone. Affettare il melone, rimuovere la buccia e tagliarlo a pezzi. Mettere tutti gli ingredienti in un'insalatiera.

In base ai sapori e alla presenza dell'avocado, ho deciso che questa insalata può fare a meno dell'olio. Un pochino di sale, una bella spruzzata di succo di limone e del basilico è tutto ciò che suggerisco di aggiungere come condimento, poi mescolare. Il risultato è rinfrescante e gustoso per il palato e piacevole alla vista.

Questo è un piatto semplice e lo descrivo più che altro come invito ad essere creativi con gli ingredienti stagionali che sono a vostra disposizione. Fate esperimenti nella preparazione di belle insalate e buon divertimento!

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 298 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Kris di Tutto a occhio.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

Comments

[Lori Lynn]

The folks over in Cantalupo sound like savvy marketeers.
Salad looks lovely, i like that you didn't add oil.
LL

[astrofiammante]

se continui così ti saluto solo per mail.....non è possibile ....ora anche il cetriolo limone, ma tutte queste belle verdure solo in california si trovano ? @ ___ @

[Paz]

I love the addition of the cantaloup. Yum!

[bellini]

Such a refreshing salad!!

[Alicia (Foodycat)]

I've never seen a lemon cucumber before! That looks like such a refreshing summer salad.

[Rinku]

This looks beautiful, I love the geographic outline and detail for your post.

[Simona Carini]

Indeed, they do, Lori Lynn. Thanks!

Cara Marta, vedi cosa ti sei persa andando in vacanza nel profondo nordest? E ancora non ho finito con le meraviglie ortofrutticole locali ;)

Ciao Paz. This is the time to eat those nice melons.

Indeed it is, Val.

Ciao Alicia. They are totally cute and very nice. I also think they are nicer than regular cucumber to grow.

Thanks, Rinku!

[Johanna GGG]

What an interesting post - I have never thought about the origins of cantaloupe because I hated it as a child - I am more open to melons these days - in australia I think we also call it rock melon - love it in this salad

[Caffettiera]

Indeed, the name is quite a mystery! I never used to call it cantaloupe or cantalupo when I was a child, to me it was only melone - I found out the name when I moved abroad. In Calabria the most common variety is the yellow one with white flesh, which actually tastes quite different - it was a shock to me that for some Italians, melone was not what I thought it was.

[Frank]

A perfectly ripe (and tasty) melon can be hard to find, so lucky you! And I always thought that the Pope's summer residence was in the Colli Albani, Castel Gandolfo, to be exact, no?

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Johanna. Yes, that is another name for cantaloupe. I think melon is not an easy fruit, because when it's not good, it is really distasteful and, if not ripened properly, the texture is unpleasant. I am working on a recipe for a dessert with melon that may be appealing to people that don't have a great relationship with it.

Same for me Caffettiera. Actually, when I visited Calabria as a teenager, I heard it called melone di pane, while watermelon was called melone d'acqua. I remember also signs with the words. I wonder if they are still used.

Ciao Frank. Yes, the current summer residence of the Pope is indeed at Castel Gandolfo, a nice place to vacation.