By Molly Downey
Summer is a wonderful time to explore everything nature has to offer and in the life of a first-time intern on the North Fork, at the Greenporter Hotel, I am overcome by the depth of beauty and range of flavors I have encountered at the farm stands of the area.
For this occasion, the chef asked me to visit some local farm stands to source new ingredients for our hotel’s chef blog, seasonedfork.com. Even as a stranger to the area, finding a farm stand is not a difficult since we are in North Fork farm country where I happened upon Country View Farm Stand.
Even with my limited knowledge of produce, I could deduce that melons and berries were the hot commodities at the stand. This, combined with the endless amounts of lettuces and creamy goat cheese from our local Catapano Dairy Farm, also in seasonal abundance; inspired me to compose a meatless meal for Mondays for our column, Meatless Mondays.
This salad of thinly shaved melon, light dressing, and ripe strawberries embody summer as I embrace the warm weather in my summer residence in the Village of Greenport. This recipe is simplistic and elegant on its own or can be paired with a protein source of choice, from cheese to any grilled item of your liking.
I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I enjoyed sourcing the ingredients!
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon minced lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 Cantalope melon
1 cup strawberries
2 cups of baby spinach from Sang Lee Farms
2 ounces goat cheese
1 tablespoon chives
1 tablespoon of Greek oregano
Sea Salt and Freshly ground pepper
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, Greek oregano, lemon peel and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the Cantalope into wedges, then thinly slice. Arrange the baby spinach, melon slices, and strawberries on a platter. Drizzle the dressing over the fruit. Garnish the salad with the goat cheese and snipped chives.
This pairs well with a dry 2015 Rose of Pinot Noir from Raphael Vineyards.
This recipe was adapted from Food & Wine.
