This simple summer combination is made sophisticated with the herbal quality of lemon verbena. The crunch in this melon salad comes from toasted pistachios.
Ingredients
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 6 lemon verbena leaves
- 1 (3 ¼ to 3 ½ lb) galia melon, or similar
- ¼ cup shelled unsalted pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
Directions
Set ¼ cup of the blackberries aside as garnish. Add the rest to a blender with the sugar and lemon juice. Process until smooth. Adjust the consistency slightly with water if necessary. Press the pulp through a fine meshed strainer into a small saucepan. Discard solids. Again adjust consistency if necessary.
Add the lemon verbena to the blackberry sauce, and gently heat without boiling about 4 minutes. Let the sauce cool completely, then remove the lemon verbena leaves. Divide the sauce between 4 serving bowls.
Halve the melon crosswise and remove seeds. Scoop the flesh using a melon baller into uniform balls. Arrange the melon on top of the sauce in each bowl, top with reserved blackberries and pistachios.
