
Recipe: Ham and Watermelon Salad
By: Mike Moore / Blind Pig Supper Club + Aux Bar / Asheville, North Carolina
Nothing beats a great salad, especially when temps are high, and it’s just too hot to cook. One of my favorite kitchen activities is to clean out the fridge, tossing whatever ingredients we can dig out into a satisfying salad for dinner. Fortunately, we always have cheese, pickles and an assortment of cured porky meats in our fridge, all of which come in handy for this tasty summer treat.
For the dressing:
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown mustard
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup olive oil
For the salad:
6 ounces country ham, diced
5 cups mixed greens, arugula, or kale
2 cups fresh herbs (mixture of cilantro, basil, parsley)
2 sweet potatoes, diced and roasted
1 ½ cups diced fresh watermelon
½ cup diced watermelon pickles
¼ medium red onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces chèvre, crumbled
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and honey, then slowly whisk in the oil.
In a large skillet over low heat, cook the ham until brown and crispy. Add a little water to the pan while cooking to pull some of the salt out.
Combine the greens, herbs, sweet potatoes, watermelon, watermelon pickles and onions in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, and then toss with the vinaigrette. Garnish with the chèvre and the ham.
(From Crop Stories No.6)