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PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. -- Watermelons are without a doubt one of my favorite things about summer. Naturally sweet, flavor packed and thirst quenching, they make even the most sweltering day suddenly turn cool and breezy. Inexpensive and abundant they lend themselves to more than just being served by the refreshing slice. With a little imagination they can be adapted as a hors d'oeuvre, first course, main course accompaniment or delicious dessert.
They also conjure up a number of summer memories. Who doesn't have fond recollections of a long-ago cook out or picnic, after the hot dogs and burgers were downed with ravenous hunger at the end of a day of swimming and sunning, of lying on the grass taking cooling bites out of a dripping, red, ripe and juicy hunk freshly hacked off of a pale green zeppelin-sized orb. Even when we were stuffed there was still room for the restorative fruit, we would languish in the fading sun and slowly spit out the seeds as we separated them from the sweet flesh.
In the summer of 1987 Cathy and I took an extended trip to China. Of course we were told never to drink the water unless it was rapidly boiled and disinfected to ward off any chance of "Mao's Revenge." One thing that we were served to ward off the heat and quench our thirst was watermelon. We progressed west following the Great Wall from end to end and the Silk Route beyond, and the further we went the more melons we were served. I vividly recall our visit to the Dun Huang caves on a scorching August afternoon. Inside the caves, which were carved from cool limestone precipices, was comfortable. Once you came out, however, the dessert sun beat down and made you wonder just what those Monks were thinking when decided to carve their giant cliff-side temples in such a forbidding place. Miraculously, as we trudged back to our minibus sweating in the overbearing heat, there was a man sitting on the side of the path under a makeshift lean to next to a giant pile of, you guessed it, cool watermelons. I remember our group standing under the welcome shade of that tattered tent, looking back at the imposing feat of eons old, hand hewn stone architecture that we had just visited thirstily chomping on the restorative red fleshed melons, probably just as the monks had done so many centuries ago.
Unlike the heavily pitted versions of my youth, most of the watermelons sold these days are of the "seedless" variety making them an easier ingredient to incorporate into a dish. Gold flesh varieties are also in the markets. One of the ways that we use watermelons at the Iron Horse is as a first course salad, with the addition of another succulent summer fruit, beautiful heirloom tomatoes, a chiffonade of herbs, a sprinkle of good olive oil, a twist of fresh pepper and coarse salt, a little acid and chalky chunks of chevre or feta. I hope that you try the following recipe and create your own water melon memory.
WATERMELON, TOMATO AND CHEVRE SALAD
Serves 4
2 lbs. ripe watermelon cut into ½ in chunks, rind any seeds removed
2 lbs ripe heirloom tomatoes stems removed, cut into ½ inch chunks
8 oz. chevre or feta crumbled
½ cup of fresh herbs, any combination of tarragon, basil, mint, or flat parsley minced
3 tbs. good olive oil
1 tbs. of good quality light colored vinegar like champagne, white balsamic or cider
Coarse salt and fresh pepper to taste
Toss all of the ingredients together, keep chilled until ready to use.
_____________Philip McGrath owns and operates the Iron Horse Grill, which is housed the historic former train station building in Pleasantville. He also owns Pony Express To Go, an all natural fast food restaurant just across the park from the Iron Horse. You can learn more about both by visiting their websites at www.ironhorsegrill.com and www.ponyexpresstogo.com.
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