What tha Watermelon! - 5 ways to freak your watermelon

What better way to kick off the summer than an ode to the watermelon. So I searched the internet to find the best recipes. Here is my list. :)Over the course of this summer I will make all of the recipes below and share my experience good or bad with you. This is an interactive space so feel free to add your own watermelon recipes or even your tweaks to the ones here!

1. Watermelon Aqua Fresca

The other day on the line there was this huge watermelon in our low boy.. No one knew how it got there and Chef M said do what we want with it.. Well after 2 days of eating it, there was still ½ left. Francisco decided to make this watermelon drink.. Something I hadn't had since Shanghai or L.A it was soo good and super easy.. Enjoy!

8 cups cubed seeded watermelon divided in ½

1 cup water, divided in ½

1/3 cup sugar, divided in ½

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Combine half the watermelon, half the water and half the sugar in a blender; puree. Pour through a coarse strainer into a large container. Repeat with the remaining watermelon, water and sugar. Stir in lime juice. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 hours, or add ice and serve immediately.

note you can add a bit of club soda or seltzer for a bit of a buzz affect..

Recipe courtesy of Fransisco aka “Chiquita”

2. Watermelon Steaks with Melon Salsa

What's better than a mango salsa soaked in sangria.. nothing.. I'll be recreating this one soon!

2 cups diced mango

¼ cup Sangria

2 tbsp – finely chopped jalapeno

1 tbsp – lemon juice

½ watermelon cut into 3 inch steaks (chilled)

Mix mango, sangria and jalapeno, toss, cover and chill for up to 4 hrs but no less than 2 To serve place watermelon steaks on a plate and top with salsa

Recipe courtesy of: Kitchen Daily

3. French Watermelon

Above I asked what could be better than mango soaked in sangria, well here is my answer, watermelon soaked in vodka and mint! I indeed need to have a summer get together!!

1 large watermelon
1 cup vodka (or more depending on the kiddies)
½ cup white sugar
15 fresh mint leaves (chopped)
Toss watermelon, vodka, sugar and mint together in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hrs.. serve (responsibly of course)

Recipe courtesy of: All Recipes

4. Watermelon and Tuna

I have to dice 2 lbs of Ahi tuna everyday for work when I work the tartare station. So this recipes struck me as an odd combo but something that I could definitely see moving into my repertoire. The salty Asian inspired tuna mixed with the sweetness of the watermelon and the slight spice of the jalapeno.. yummy.. yet again enjoy this easy ass recipe! I'll have to try this one at work.. maybe chef will like it and put it on the menu.. (maybe.. if I share it..)

½ lb - Ahi tuna *note* go to the freshest fish market you can find in your area and get the pinkest/clearest tuna you can find, don’t skimp on this ingredient you can find tuna at whole food, central markets..(for those in Houston)

¼ cup – soy sauce

2 clove- garlic minces

1 ½ tsp- ginger minced

2 ½ tsp- green onion minced

1 tsp- white pepper

½ – jalapeno minced

salt

1 watermelon diced (same size as tuna)

Create the marinade by combining the first 5 ingredients. Cover marinade over tuna toss , cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hrs or over nite (suggested). When serving add salt to tuna and fold in diced watermelon. Can be served with home-made (or not) tortilla chips, diced avocado.

Recipe courtesy of: Salon.com

Summer Breeze Salad with Fennel Vinaigrette

This one is probably the most time consuming one because of the presentation. Make sure the cucumber, watermelon and cantaloupe are all cut in the same size. In addition to that there's the vinaigrette ie dressing. Don’t be afraid of the vinaigrette. The recipe for all vinaigrette start with two things.. oil and acid.. 2 parts oil/1 part acid. Oil can be: olive, veg, corn, pomace, sesame,truffle you get my drift and acid – lemon, lime, vinegars. Combine the two and whisk.. You can add almost ANYTHING to come up with your own version of any vinaigrette. For this salad however I'm going to make a fennel vinaigrette. I had now idea about fennel until I started school.. and now I work with it everyday at work.. I love it. Fennel has a slight licorice flavor (think black licorice candy) it's the perfect inflection for this salad. Enjoy!

2 cups - watermelon – diced or scooped

2 cups - cantaloupe – diced or scooped

1 ½ cups - blueberry

1 ½ cups – cucumber – diced or scooped

2 tbsp – mint (chiffinade or sliced very very thin)

Keep all ingredients separate and chilled till serving. Once ready to serve, combine ingredients and toss with vinaigrette

Recipe courtesy of: Me

Fennel Vinaigrette

1/3 cup – olive oil

2 med - fennel bulbs- diced very small

2 tbsp - sweet wine vinegar

2 tbsp – lemon juice

To taste – salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the chopped fennel bulbs and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until golden and tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Let the chopped fennel cool in the skillet for 10 minutes, then stir in the vinegar and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Reheat and stir in the fennel fronds just before serving

Recipe courtesy of: Food and Wine

For more info on fennel go here:http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/blog/ingredients/fennel-recipes/ This guy has a GREAT amount of information on the herb.