2023-07-22 10:00:00
SUMMER KITCHEN. The talented cook reveals a few tricks to accommodate melon: grated, in lemonade or even in a little candy… It’s up to you!
By Hugo de Saint Phalle The melon, a star of the summer markets. © Adil Benayache/SIPA / SIPA / Adil Benayache/SIPA Published on 07/22/2023 at 10:00 a.m.
Meat and other fish grilled on the barbecue, sunbathing with ice cream in hand, lunch on the terrace… Moments that traditionally punctuate our gastronomic summer. Just like the cooking of seasonal vegetables and fruits, zucchini, eggplant and other raspberries. But how to get out of the banal tomato salad without taking the lead? Point asked several Michelin-starred chefs for their advice on simply using these products. Sometimes, a very small trick can change the game and allow you to make an original recipe.
After Jean-François Piège and the tomato, it’s Romain Meder who is sticking to it this week with the melon. The two cooks have in common to have been in the past the chefs of the gourmet restaurant of Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée, now led by Jean Imbert. Romain Meder settled not far from Paris, at the Domaine de Primard, where his restaurant, Les Chemins, was awarded a star in the latest Michelin Guide. His high-flying plant-based cuisine is particularly marked by his concern for using the products in their entirety, as he offers us, here, with some tips for twisting the melon.
READ ALSOThe Paris of chefs – The good addresses of Romain Meder
Romain Meder’s tips for preparing or accommodating melon
The melon, the ideal companion… for the salad
“If your melon isn’t ripe or green enough, grate it and add it to a salad of grated carrots, seasoned with a classic vinaigrette. This will give you the taste of the melon, but not the sugar. »
The melon, a real delicacy
“On the contrary, if you have overripe melons, arrange them in slices on a baking sheet and let them dry at 50-60 degrees for two to three hours until they become candied. They will be perfect for snacking on. »
And why not a melon vinegar?
“Instead of throwing away the peelings, skins and pips, we make a melon vinegar with all this. In a jar, put all the heart of the melons, the skin and the peelings. Add a mixture of one liter of white vinegar and 60 g of preheated sugar. Store in a cool place and wait a week before consuming. It can be used to season fruit salads or the famous carrot and melon salad. »
The melon to drink… delicious!
“Another trick for using the peelings: put all of this in a carafe (put a cloth over it so that there is air passing through) with water and a slice of lemon plus a spoonful of honey. We leave it at room temperature for two days to ferment and we get a kind of melon lemonade. »
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