Prosciutto and Melon

This is hands down the best Prosciutto and Melon antipasti you will ever have. This recipe is inspired by Steve’s Zio Iginio whom we lost in 2021. Zio Iginio was from Trento, Italia, and was someone who made a massive impact on our lives with his cooking, stories from the war, and traditions. He loved prosciutto and melon served for special occasions so we made this dish in honor of him, but with a modern twist of course. This antipasti is suited to any occasion and a beautiful presentation if you have guests over.

What stands out

This Prosciutto and Melon antipasto is dressed to impress. It is so simple, yet beautifully elegant and just takes a few minutes to assemble. The melon is so crisp and fresh juicy and sweet, which complements the salty prosciutto perfectly. The fresh bocconcini and homemade walnut/honey crumble take this over the top. This recipe can be easily scaled up if you have more guests, so feel free to make as much as you need.

How to Prepare Prosciutto and Melon

Using a sharp knife cut the melon in half.

Now, scoop out the seeds and then take a melon baller and press it flat into the melon. Press down and rotate the tool around until you have a melon ball.

Continue to do this until you have about 20 melon balls.

Arrange the melon in a bowl with the Bocconcini, then nestle in a few ribbons of prosciutto and set aside.

Now, to the food processor add the walnuts and honey. If you don’t have a food processor, you can crush the nuts with a mallet in a ziplock bag and then mix them with honey, or blend them in a blender and mix them with honey until you have a crumbly texture.

Process together until you have a coarse nutty, sweet, and crumbly texture that tastes like heaven.

Take the nut and honey topping and add it on top of the melon, prosciutto, and Bocconcini.

Drizzle on a little extra honey on top and garnish with your favorite herbs. Enjoy

Kitchen tip

To get the melon ball every time, be sure to place the tool flat onto the melon and press down. Then rotate the melon baller in a circular motion until the melon ball pops out.

Swaps

1. You can use canteloupe, honeydew or a combination if you wish. This recipe works beautifully with watermelon in the mix as well.
2. You can certainly leave the cheese or meat out of this recipe if you or your guests have food preferences or intolerances as this recipe is just with the fruit and walnut honey topping.
3. Feel free to improvise and use any cheese variety you enjoy here: fresh mozzarella or burrata would be yummy.
4. If you are allergic to nuts you can try using seeds instead for the honey topping.

Serve it with

• This Proscuitto and Melon antipasto is a terrific first course before a heavier Italian main dish, such as Eggplant Ricotta Lasagna RollsC opycat Carbone Spicy Rigatoni or Simple Risotto Recipe.
• Serve this with a few other Italian antipasti to wow your guests. Our beautiful Italian Stuffed Artichokes and Italian Bruschetta are sensational!

Questions

What kind of melon is best for this Prosciutto and Melon recipe?

You can use canteloupe, honeydew or a combination if you wish. This recipe works beautifully with watermelon in the mix as well.

which melon baller do you have?

Our melon baller is from Amazon: mark OXO Good Grips Melon Baller Silver

what can we use instead of a melon baller?

If you can’t get your hands on a melon baller you can just slice the melon with a knife or even try using a mini ice-cream scooper instead.

which food processor do you use to make the walnut/honey topping?

We have the mark Cuisinart Food Processor, and we love it! It’s powerful and holds a lot of ingredients.

how can we make the topping if we don’t have a food processor?

If you don’t have a food processor, you can crush the nuts with a mallet in a ziplock bag and then mix them with honey, or blend them in a mark blender and mix them with honey until you have a crumbly texture.

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

• ½ cantaloupe, or honey dew
• 1 cup mini Bocconcini
• ½ cup walnuts, or almonds (or a mix)
• 1 tablespoon honey, more to taste
• 100 grams prosciutto slices
• fresh mint, basil, lemon thyme or any herbs you have for presentation

Equipment

• Melon Baller
• Nakiri Knife
• Cutting Board
• Large Food Processor

Method

1. Cut the melon in half. You can also buy a small piece at the grocery store that’s already pre-cut for you.
2. Scoop out the seeds and take the melon baller and press it flat into the melon. Put the melon baller flat onto the fruit, press down and begin to rotate the tool around until you have a perfect melon ball. Continue to do this until you have 20 balls or as many as you enjoy. You will have melon scraps left over which you can eat or freeze for smoothies.
3. Arrange the melon in a bowl with the Bocconcini, and nestle in a few ribbons of prosciutto.
4. The best part of this recipe is the honey walnut/almond topping which we make in the food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, you can crush the nuts with a mallet in a ziplock bag and then mix them with honey, or blend them in a blender and mix them with honey until you have a crumbly texture.
5. We like to add our nuts and honey together in the food processor and process until you have a coarse nutty, sweet, and crumbly texture that tastes like heaven.
6. Take the nut and honey topping and add it on top of the melon, prosciutto, and Bocconcini.
7. Drizzle on a little extra honey on top and garnish with any of your favorite herbs. Enjoy