This West Coast heat wave is doing its best to derail my #100daysofAthleteFood challenge. Who wants to haul groceries home and then stand over a hot stove in the 100 degree heat? Oh yeah, I don't always do that on a perfect 70 degree day either, but I'm really making an effort these days!
I could very well have slipped into my old habits and called a big bowl of fro yo dinner, but instead I found inspiration on Bec's @athletefood instagram feed. She posted this picture of a cantaloupe prosciutto salad a few weeks ago and it meets all of my cooking criteria. No oven involved: check. Very little prep: check. Healthy: check. Refreshing: check.
I jogged up to Brentwood Country mart to pick up the ingredients. They sell my favorite prosciutto (La Quercia) by the pound. I ordered just two thin slices, picked up a bundle of mint (now that I'm ok with using fresh herbs), and a few handfuls of arugula. I tucked my little bag of groceries under my arm and jogged the 15 minutes home. Good thing I already had a melon in the fridge. Running down Montana with a cantaloupe would have been quite a sight.
The dressing on this salad is just juice from half a lemon, a little drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. As for the prosciutto, I like to remove the excess fat from around the edges and break the pieces up by hand. I also followed Bec's suggestion to top the salad with toasted pine nuts - for crunch and a little extra flavor. To make this salad a full dinner, I ate it with a goat cheese and rhubarb chutney sandwich.
So take that, heat wave. My #100DaysofAthleteFood streak lives on!
--Laurel
Heat Wave Salad
serves 1
two big handfuls of arugula
about 10 mint leaves
1/4 of a cantaloupe, sliced
2 slices of prosciutto, broken into pieces and excess fat removed
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
1/2 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper
Dress the greens with juice from the lemon and drizzle with olive oil. I use around a teaspoon. Season with salt and pepper and top with the remaining ingredients.