As the summer sun and warm temperatures emerge, you may find yourself craving something sweet and refreshing. Summer cookouts typically provide plenty of vegetable-based salads, grilled meats, fruit, and refined carbs, but this summer, you can try something new and intriguing for your family get-togethers.

This French Cantaloupe Salad was served to one of our Trinity employees while in France during a study abroad trip. While not all foreign eating habits can be considered “healthy,” many countries emphasize fresh foods, encourage balance and quality in their dishes, and source all-natural ingredients. This salad is one of those dishes!

This fruit-based salad provides an array of flavors. It’s sweet, somewhat tart, crunchy, and easy to prepare! Are you ready to try this dish? Read on to learn what ingredients you need and how to put together this delicious summer side dish.

Ingredients:
-One cantaloupe
-2 Roma tomatoes
-1 cucumber
-1/4 cup of red onions
-1/2 cup of white wine vinaigrette
-The leaves from 2-3 sprigs of mint, about 9 to 12 leaves total

-Optional: 2 mangoes, 2 bananas, or 1 ½ cups of sliced red grapes
**If you decide to add the additional fruits, increase the white wine vinaigrette to taste. Note: Adding extra fruits will also increase the number of servings. **

Directions:

1. Using a large kitchen knife, cut the cantaloupe in half. Remove the seeds and place them in your compost or trash. Then, slice the cantaloupe halves again in half. After that, cut the meat of the cantaloupe from the outer rind, making roughly one-inch by one-inch pieces.  Place the sliced cantaloupe into a large serving bowl. If you decide to add bananas, peel them and cut off the bottom circular rinds. Then, slice into thin pieces and cut these thin pieces in half. Place these thinly sliced banana halves into your serving bowl along with your cantaloupe. If you choose to use mangoes in your salad, follow these directions detailing how to cut a mango and create one-inch by one-inch pieces. Then, add the mangoes to the large bowl with the other fruit.

2. Next, thoroughly rinse off the cucumber, tomatoes, and grapes (if using) with water. Cut the cucumber and tomato into ½ inch pieces and the grapes in half. Place all sliced produce in the bowl.

3. Cut the top and bottom off the red onion and peel off its tough outer layers. Then, dice the onion into small, evenly sized pieces. Add ¼ cup of the diced onion to your serving bowl.

4. Add ½ cup of white wine vinaigrette to the bowl. Gently stir the mixture to spread all the fruits and vegetables evenly throughout the salad.

5. Mince the mint into small pieces. Add it to the bowl and toss the mixture once more.

Bon Appetit! Enjoy your French Cantaloupe Salad!

Other Variations of This Recipe to Try:
https://minimalistbaker.com/summer-tomato-cantaloupe-salad/
https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/tomato-cantaloupe-mint-salad
https://oursaltykitchen.com/tomato-melon-salad-prosciutto/