WTSIM... melon! (Strawberry & melon bowle)

Apologies for keeping this a very short post, but I've had a few days in a row where absolutely everything went wrong, except for a lovely dinner cooked and enjoyed in the company of Jeanne, the Cook Sister!. It is her, of course, who hosts this month's edition of "Waiter! There's something in my...", the not-so-new-anymore foodblogger event hosted between Andrew, Jeanne and myself. This is the 5th round already and after stews, pies, bread and Easter, the theme this time round is "stuffed fruit & veg".
With things being as they have been this week and seeing that I am off to Tuscany later in the day, I have no option but to present you with what had Jeanne and I giggling like two schoolgirls on a sleepover (which indeed we had)... it must have been the combination with the extremely warm temperatures that evening, or the fact that we hadn't eaten anything all day, as the bowle itself is a rather light number: crushed melon, diced strawberries, some sugar and a bottle of bubbly to top it all up - you could use champagne, of course, but I went for prosecco. It was one of those days when you stand in front of the supermarket shelf and have visions of the bills that had flown in earlier in the morning: credit card statement, school fees, council tax reminder, electricity bill and two cars needing their insurance renewed certainly make me reach for the £5.99 Italian prosecco rather than a bottle of DomPerignon... especially when I'm going to add sugar and fruit anyway!
Although my very first try at bowle, this turned out really nice - light, fruity, special! We were already discussing how lovely it would be to have this instead of the usual Pimm's at Henley this year, when we realised that it might not travel so well... oh well, I would have had a tough time sharing it anyway!

For more stuffed recipes on thepassionatecook:
Onions stuffed with parmesan polenta (April 2005)
Stuffed courgette flowers (squash blossoms) drizzled with honey (September 2005)
Chestnut risotto in kabocha squash (November 2005)

Strawberry & melon bowle

1 white-fleshed melon
8 large strawberries
4 tbsp sugar
1 bottle prosecco (very cold)
Mint leaves

Slice a tiny bit off the bottom of the melon, just enough to make it stand without wobbling. Careful not to cut through to the cavity.
Cut off a generous bit off the top of the melon, enough to allow you to hollow it out and fit a ladle with which to serve the bowle.
Remove all the seeds, then scrape out as much of the flesh as you can. Transfer to a blender and make a smooth purée.
Dice the strawberries finely, add the sugar and leave to macerate for half an hour.

Transfer half of the strawberries and half of their juice as well as half of the melon purée into the melon. Keep the rest for a second serving. Top with prosecco carefully.
To serve, ladle the bowle into glasses (over ice, if desired) and decorate with mint.

Comments

[Kalyn]

It looks quite yummy. I don't recognize the white-fleshed melon in your photo at all; we must not have that type here.

[Bea at La Tartine Gourmande]

Lovely lovely. A real call for summer! Have fun in Tuscany!

[Pille]

I can see this being hugely popular during summer parties:)
Have fun in Tuscany!

[Susan from Food "Blogga"]

What a refreshing summertime dessert; one I will have to try when melons start showing up at the farmers' market.

[valentina]

Lovely drink to be had in a hot summer day!!! Not that a rainy one wouldn't be a good enough excuse for me.

[Andrea]

This sounds refreshing and looks so elegant! What a great party idea!

[Robert]

I made this for our braai/bbq this evening. Only I used red Lambrusco instead of Prosecco (the cheapest bottle of Prosecco I could find was €15.99!) and it was delicious. I used the yellow skinned honeydew melon and it was very effective indeed.

Thank you for this great summer recipe!