As I have told you in my introduction page I live in a Greek island and more specific I live in a small village of a Greek island.The living here is very different in many ways than living in a big city like Athens for example. I have lived in Athens for many years for studies and work and I know very well what I am saying. My husband and I decided to move here about a decade ago and we have no regrets about that decision so far. Here is my home, where I was born and grew up, here are my parents and most of my family. Here we have time to see our friends, to go out for a drink or dinner, to swim in the sea every day if we like, to enjoy the sunset. In other words we live.
One of the most important things is the opportunity to grow your own vegetables and fruits. Every family in the village has its own vegetable garden that covers their needs and often much more.In May we plant tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, zucchinis, onions, corn, melons, watermelons and in September we plant lettuce, broccoli, parsley, dill, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower. All these are the basics that almost everyone plant annually. The land around the village is full of olive trees, fig trees, almond trees, lemon trees, orange trees and every Mediterranean tree you can imagine. I will take some photos of the village sometime and I will show you what I am talking about. It is no doubt that we are blessed.
Yesterday we gathered some melons, grapes and figs as you can see at the photo below. It is so beautiful and rewarding to see a plant that you have planted and taking care of to grow and give fruits. So beautiful!! The grapes and the fig tree have been planted from my father many years ago, perhaps the fig tree even from my grandfather, but the melons are my own business. I planted the seeds at February, I transferred the young plants in the field at June and for that I am so proud. Not that it is a difficult thing to do but it is the result that gives you so much joy. Fresh sweet delicious melons.
The recipes that you can make using melons are many. Sorbet, ice cream, smoothie, cocktails. The first thing that came in my mind when I saw all these sweet fruits together was to make a salad using all three of them (melons, figs and grapes). Unfortunately the figs didn’t survive more than 5 minutes after taking the photo so I couldn’t use them any more. However the salad was so tasty and refreshing, even without figs.
I make the salad using the cantaloupe melons but you can use every variety you want. I add pistachios and roquefort to give a salty taste that combined perfectly with the sweetness of melon and grapes. I also add smoked ham and of course the simplest dressing of all, olive oil with lemon juice. I didn’t want the taste of dressing to be strong so I kept it simple. Arugula with its peppery flavor is the final touch to a really flavorful and colorful salad.
It is an ideal dish for a light dinner for you or an impressive one for your guests. Bon appétit!!
Melon, arugula and roquefort salad
(8 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- for the salad
- 50-70 gr arugula
- 500-600 gr melon
- 150 gr grapes
- 30 gr pistachios salted and roasted
- 2-3 slices of smoked ham
- 70 gr roquefort cheese, crumbled
- for the dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- the juice of half a lemon
Instructions
Wash the grapes and arugula very well.
Cut the melon in small cubes.
On a plate or in a bowl put the leaves of arugula.
Add the melon cubes, the grapes and the pistachios.
Torn the ham into small pieces and add this too.
Add the roquefort on top.
To make the dressing put the olive oil and the lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk until blended.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad.
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