Recipe: Cantaloupe Salad with Basil, Fresh Mozzarella & Onions

Leela Cyd
Leela Cyd
Leela Cyd is a photographer and cookbook author. Her previous books include Food with Friends and Cooking Up Trouble. She lives in Santa Barbara with her husband and new baby son Izador Cosmo.
updated May 17, 2022
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Credit: Apartment Therapy

Serves4 to 6

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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

This salad, a riff on that beloved summer staple, tomato caprese, is so delightful, you may eschew tradition and go with this fruit-meets-savory composition all season long. I’m telling you, this meeting of flavors, textures and tastes is simple and heavenly.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Spending time with my folks in Southern California means a lot of walking the dog at the beach, waking up early to the tune of the fancy espresso machine and family meals around the big fir table. There’s a certain rhythm of relaxation, activity, crossword puzzles and good eating we lapse into, especially during our summer days together. It’s an irreplaceable, lucky feeling to grow up in such a household and I leave feeling renewed and a little sad — being a spoiled daughter is sometimes hard to say goodbye to!

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

On one lazy afternoon this past week, I turned to an extra-ripe cantaloupe, my mom’s basil plant, fresh mozzarella hiding in the back of the fridge and a few other favorite ingredients . . . And declared it dinner. With a good loaf of bread, some tabbouleh and a generous portion of this nouveau variation on caprese salad, we relished the meal and each other’s company. If peaches can enter salad domain and top pizzas and garnish grilled chicken, I believe ripe cantaloupe can too. You may be surprised and come to include this luscious, sweet complement to all the salty summer foods.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd)
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Cantaloupe Salad with Basil, Fresh Mozzarella & Onions

Serves 4 to 6

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 1

    medium cantaloupe, cut into 1 inch cubes

  • 10 to 20

    leaves of basil, chiffonaded (reserve a few whole leaves for garnish)

  • 10

    green olives, sliced

  • 1/4

    red onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 cup

    fresh mozzarella balls, sliced into quarters

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons

    olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon

    red wine vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons

    lime juice, from 1 lime

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, toss the cantaloupe, basil strips, olives, red onions and mozarella balls together. Lightly dress the salad with a long pour of olive oil and even longer drizzle of red wine vinegar. Toss with the lime juice. Generously salt and pepper the salad and taste.

  2. This salad is great straight away but even better chilled for a few hours before serving, to allow the flavors to really meld.

Related: The Sweet Pleasures of Melon: Cantaloupe

(Images: Leela Cyd Ross)

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Salad