Italian Melon Rolls

Italian Melon Rolls

 

Italian Melon Rolls

Let me just start by saying, I'm a sushi lover from way back.  While in San Diego recently my husband and I tried something called a kobe roll.  It consisted of raw kobe beef sliced in a carpaccio style and incorporated into one of the tastiest rolls we've had in quite a while.  Now, I want to make everything into a roll.  The other half of the inspiration for this dish came from another recent trip to Rome, Italy.  I ordered a melon and prosciutto salad.  Everything was so fresh and simple that the flavors were the star of the dish.  A recent trip to the grocery store assembled all the ingredients almost on a subconscious level.  It was a hot sunny day today, so the thought of a hot meal didn't appeal to me.  I stared into the abyss that can be the refrigerator when I spotted the cantaloupe.  All of the thoughts above flashed through my head and I began gathering ingredients, then the Italian melon roll was born.  Warning, these are addictive.

Ingredients

1/4 of a cantaloupe cut into 1x1 inch strips
1/2 a cucumber peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 ounces goat cheese allowed to warm to room temperature
6 basil leaves
2 large sheets of proscuitto

Directions

Lay your slices of prosciutto side by side on a cutting board leaving the wax paper on the back for support.  Spread the goat cheese over the prosciutto and then lay basil leaves on top.  If you are not a big fan of goat cheese, light cream cheese could be substituted in its place. Make sure it's room temperature otherwise it will pull the prosciutto apart.

Next lay the cucumber sticks on top of the basil for half the length of the prosciutto.  Place the cantaloupe at one end on top of the cucumber.
Roll the prosciutto starting at the end with the cantaloupe removing the wax paper as you roll.  Once it is rolled into a log, use the wax paper to gently squeeze the log to make sure it's nice and tight.  Place the two intact rolls into the fridge until firm, around 30 minutes.

Once the rolls are firm, cut them in half and then each piece in half again and place on a plate.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a touch of balsamic to taste.