Inspired by a salad (or a slaw if you’re so inclined) that we had at the now defunct Smoke restaurant in Plano, Texas over a year ago, this Asian Inspired Cantaloupe Salad showed up on a delicious grilled fish taco plate they had on special that evening.
After a bit of research, and poking and prodding our chef friends (thanks Libby!), we tweaked this recipe around the edges a bit and settled on this version. For the prep time and effort required, this salad pays huge dividends, and is a great one to serve friends or family as it’s not something you see everyday.
Root around at your favorite grocery and find the best looking cherry tomatoes you can; they play very with the cantaloupe and the other asian-inspired players in this one. Consider upping the heat with a sliced serrano or jalapeno too.
1 large cantaloupe, halved, seeded, prepped as below
1 and 1/2 cups of the freshest cherry tomatoes you can find
6-7 green onions, trimmed, then thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 fresh red fresno chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced (poblano good too)
1/3 cup (or more) fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish if desired
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp good fish sauce
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp (or more) fresh lime zest (optional)
1/3 cup (give or take) of roasted, salted peanuts, crushed, optional
Slice 3/4s of the cantaloupe into thin slices; grate the remainder on a the large holes of a box grater. Toss both into a medium bowl.
Now halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the onions and chiles, and prep the cilantro; add all to the cantaloupe.
Add the lime juice, fish sauce and EVOO; mix well and chill for a few minutes if not eating immediately, you don’t want to hold this one for too long.
Garnish with the lime zest, cilantro, and optional crushed roasted peanuts and go to it.
Enjoy.
