Looking for a delightful summer dish?  Try this delicious linguine with melon sauce.  This surprisingly fresh tasting sauce might sound like an unlikely combination but it has become one of our family’s favorite summer recipes.  It is an especially fun to make the dish and have people guess what is in it.  Even Italians might have difficulty comming up with the correct answer.  This unsual dish was one that Marcella Hazan and Giuliano discovered in a Venetian restaurant.  The freshness is relaxing and takes on the full bounty of summer.

 

The video of Giuliano teaching teaching this dish from Open Road Media.

 

 

 

 

Linguine with Melon

(From Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta by Giuliano Hazan)

 

 

 

Serves 4 people

 

3 pounds cantaloupe melon

3 tablespoons butter

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound linguine (spaghetti is also good here)

2 teaspoons concentrated tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

 

  1. Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.
  2. Pare away the rind of the melon, down to the orange flesh.Discard the seeds and cut the melon into 1/2” dice.  Put the butter in a 12” skillet and place over medium high heat.  Once the butter has melted completely, add the melon and season generously with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until the melon begins to break down and most of the liquid it releases has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
  3. Add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling pasta water, put in the linguine, and stir until all the strands are submerged.Cook until al dente.
  4. Add the tomato paste and lemon juice to the melon and stir well.Add the cream and cook until it thickens and reduces by about a third, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the heat.
  5. When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce and the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve at once.