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Summertime in a Cup… a Watermelon Cup « What We’re Eating – A Food & Recipe Blog
Watermelon bowls

Summertime in a Cup… a Watermelon Cup

Fun for the whole family
Eater rating: 4.6 / 5  4.585

We’re celebrating a wonderful summer evening with these perfectly light and refreshing fruit salad appetizers. Our pre-dinner snack was made with hollowed out watermelon cups providing the edible vessels for our sweet and savory fruit salad made with diced fresh yellow peaches, watermelon, jicama, Maui onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno. The salad cups were topped with a dollop of tangy and slightly spicy cilantro, lime, & feta cream fraiche.

Fruit Salad Cups
Cool juicy and delicious
T: This was a seriously fun summertime treat. I should say, is a seriously fun summertime treat since there are more over on the table that I plan to eat right now…
A: hell yeah! they really are super summertime-y. and my god. i have been consuming those peaches i got from the farmers market like they were going out of style. i love summer fruits!
T: yeah, me too. What really gets me going are the blackberries. It’s awesome that we can pretty much buy and eat as many as we want without going broke. Fruit kicks ass. Normally I’m not a huge fan of fruit salady type dishes because the purity of the fruit is tainted by whatever dressing is added… but these little watermelon bowls o fruit did not suffer from that at all. The creamy dressing on top was really really tasty.
A: i was hoping it would work. it’s a tangy cilantro, lime, sour cream, jalapeno, and feta mixture. i didn’t really want enough of the “sauce” to coat the fruit. just enough so you get a hint with each bite.
T: well it was really more than a hint, but that was a good thing I thought. The jalapeno was kickin’ as well. I could have probably gone for a little more jalapeno in them… but that’s just my obsession with pain.
Watermelon cup
Papa watermelon cup
A: heheh and your obsession with tasty spicy things, you’re not supposed to share the thing about your obsession with pain…. freak.
T: my therapist says I should share everything.
A: on our blog? with the whole world?
T: fortunately I don’t have to face anybody that reads this thing… it feels anonymous.
A: until your coworkers bring it up tomorrow… er… monday!
T: they have to know I’m obsessed with pain… how else could I work with them… snap!
A: oh. my. god. i just know you did NOT just type “snap”! that is sooooooooo wrong!
(t snaps several times, erratically)
A: alright snappy, let’s get back to the fruit at hand! do you have a rating for this little sweet and savory box of goodness?
T: I give these watermelon bowls a 4.73/5. They were really fun to eat… can’t say I’ve ever had fruit salad in a watermelon bowl… can’t say that I’ve ever had anything in a watermelon bowl. On top of that the fruit itself was delish and the creamy sauce was awesome and went really well with the fruit. What’s your rating?
A: i think i’m gonna have to go with a 4.4444/5. these little dealies make a great summertime first course. I thought the jicama added a nice crunch and the small amount of garlic, onions, jalapeno, and cilantro really worked well to bring out the savory sides to the perfectly ripe fruit. it was well balanced and fun to eat. my only problem at all was with my inability to create perfectly straight edges and thus nice boxes. in the end i had to settle for almost straight edges.
T: The straightness of the edges didn’t cross my mind once… actually, I thought they looked pretty neat. 😛
A: why thank ya t! i tried… hard.
T: You did very well… every time I try hard at something I totally f it up.
A: i had that fear when i first started trying to shape the boxes. i just envisioned the barbie i tried to give a hair cut to when i was like 5 years old… eventually she ended up with a boy cut because i just couldn’t get the lines straight!
T: Nice to know! Amanda, how could you continuously offer to cut my hair with a history like that? 🙁

An Appetizer Recipe, by Amanda
Sweet and Savory Fruit Salad in Watermelon Cups

1 mini seedless watermelon, 3-5 lbs
2/3 cup jicama, small dice
4 ripe yellow peaches, small dice
1/3 cup sweet or red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice (depending on how tangy you want it)
1/2 fresh jalapeno, small dice (seeds and membrane removed if you don't like spicy stuff)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped plus several small whole leaves to garnish
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the Cream Sauce:
1/2 cup cream fraiche or sour cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbsp minced fresh jalapeno
1/8 cup feta, finely crumbled
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Make the watermelon cubes: Cut the ends off of the watermelon. Remove the rind from the melon by standing the watermelon up on one of the flat cut ends, then running a knife down the length of the melon just deep enough to cut off all of the green/white rind part. Continue cutting the rind off the melon until all you are left with is the meat of the fruit. From this point, trim the edges to create a large, straight-edged rectangle. Dice 2/3 cup of watermelon in to cm or smaller uniform cubes using the excess pieces from trimming the rectangle. Set the diced aside in a mixing bowl, reserved for the salad. From the large rectangle cut out either all 2-3 inch cubes or varying sizes of rectangles and cubes to use for your watermelon cups. Once you have achieved this, using a paring knife and a melon baller or small spoon cut/scoop out the middle of each rectangle leaving about 1 cm wall of melon on the edges and the bottom. Repeat this process until all the watermelon cups have been hollowed out. Place all of the watermelon cups on a plate/tray, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to be filled.

Make the salad: In the mixing bowl with the reserved diced watermelon, add the diced jicama, peaches, sweet onion, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice. Toss gently to combine and thoroughly coat all of the ingredients with the lime juice to prevent them from oxidizing and turning brown. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Set aside.

Make the cream sauce: To a bowl add the cream fraiche, chopped cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, and feta. Stir to combine thoroughly. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Assemble the hors d'oeuvre: Liberally fill each of the watermelon cups with the fruit salad. Garnish with a little dollop of cream sauce and a small cilantro leaf. Serve and enjoy!

31 comments so far:

  1. Shawnda says:

    Those look absolutely gorgeous! Looking forward to the recipe.

  2. aria says:

    woot amanda your back, i was starting to get worried! these look so delicious, such perfect squares too, impressive.

    i like how you always mix the savory and sweet together in salads and such, YUM!

  3. Amanda says:

    Thanks Shawnda! I’m going to try to get it up later this afternoon.

    aria, i know! tyler and i have been bad. we’ve had guest in town for weeks… and t broke his wrist and has been sick for weeks. man, we’re full of not-so-good excuses. at least he is! i’ve just been an uninspired sack of sh*t. 😉 as for this one, i really like the sweet and savory thing, pulling on all the flavor regions of the tongue. have noted, wise aria, that you too do this frequently! i great mind, i say! great!

  4. Leena! says:

    welcome back, guys! the food blog world just isn’t the same without you and your swear words:)

    now let’s get a recipe with a bit more bacon in it next time, shall we?

  5. abo gato says:

    YUM…..those look great. I just found a really cool restaurant near my office the other day…they are primarily small plate tapas….and we had watermelon sandwiches as one of the dishes…..not quite like this, but wow, were they good.

    The chef had quarter inch thick, 2 1/2 inch round slices of watermelon and between them some microgreens and slices of red onion….some onion slices on top and drizzled with a thin aioli of some sort….really refreshing as a starter.

    I’m going to the store today and getting me a watermelon!

  6. brilynn says:

    I want to give this a try with goat cheese too… very tasty

  7. ford says:

    Just wanted to de-lurk long enought to let you know how much we enjoy your blog – love the recipes and the banter…

    Peace
    fm

  8. isi says:

    you two inspire me
    i want to be the two of you rolled into one, me.

    you keep it up! will be checkin here most of the time!

    i love these watermelon creation! because i love watermelon!

    hello to the two of you! i’m isi an aspiring chef, aspiring food stylist and a stay at home mom of a one year old. i love baking, but i studied culinary arts and now i’m studying pastry short course at http://www.iscahm.com

    please check out my creations and photos

  9. Oh, how creative. I can see serving this with chilled green ice tea punctuated with lemongrass and a shot of vodka. Of course, a big bar of chocolate would do the trick, too.

    Cheers!

  10. dan says:

    Oh, wow! Lovely:)

  11. Heather says:

    Welcome back and with a bang! Those look gorgeous and delicious! My baby likes watermelon, that’s for sure!

  12. allison says:

    omg, those are so cute!

  13. Bobby says:

    Make something with watermelon and hotdogs, preferably the really cheap, really red kind!!!!!! Just think about that texture contrast, and the hotdog has to be raw, frankfurter sashemi!!!! It cold be the next huge fad, like the bacontini

  14. caroline says:

    cool! I’m making these next week when I get another watermelon. My daughter will love to eat out of a watermelon cup! Woo hoo!

  15. Mansi says:

    Wow, this watermelon cups creation is amazing, the pic itself makes me refreshed!!! i started a new blog too http://funnfud.blogspot.com and i’m gonna put a link to yours there…easier for me to visit everyday:)

    btw, pls visit my blog and if u like it, could you add it to your Food Blogs list??

    Thanks,

    -Mansi
    http://funnfud.blogspot.com

  16. Deborah Dowd says:

    Part dessert, part salad,I am trying these next tapas night at our house- great for these hot humid evenings!

  17. Kristen says:

    Amanda…you amaze me. This looks fantastic!

  18. Bobby says:

    I guess not many people wear watermelon cups for sports, might be cool, but may not do its job too well, and might leave a stain.

  19. helen says:

    should’ve did this with my watermelon!

  20. vegetarian says:

    These look amazing. Like something that would be served at a wedding.

  21. wow, I would never think to use watermelon in this way, I’ve only had mango and other tropical fruit with salsa (although I have washed such eats down with a watermelon margarita.) very summery and pretty.

  22. DarBar says:

    Amanda, I continue to be amazed and in awe of your creativity and your cooking/food assembling wizardry! These things are amazing! I have to bring a dessert item for our block party next week and I’m going to be very proud to set a plate of these on the table. You are awesome! Thanks. Your friend from GR.

  23. MsRebecca says:

    How flippin’ cute and scrumptious do these look! I love that I found this site..

  24. Lawrence says:

    Thank you for your recipe. I included a link in a post about watermelons I wrote at askdrmanny.com.

  25. mycookinghut says:

    They look really cute!!

  26. WannabechefJess says:

    You guyz seriously rock!! Your recipes are great and I’m sure my husband agrees. The recipes are so creative and tasty and the pictures look very professional. Thanks for the recipes they’re well appreciated!

  27. biglipsjim says:

    WannabechefJess… lol love the name
    I am a current student of the craft.
    Chef had asked the class to bring in recipes some thing with a little piazza.
    I believe I’ll bring this one in to class.
    thank you.

  28. Benita says:

    Just made this today for neighborhood 4th of July bbq–and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved the combination of flavors and it was so pretty, too. You are now a shortcut on my desktop–thank you and I can’t wait to try more recipes!

  29. gina sterns says:

    Hi I am starting a small catering business in Omaha,Ne. I LOVE your picture of the watermelon cubes/boats with the goat cheese and jalapeno relish. Any chance you would give me permission to use it on my soon to be launched website? I could pay a little…

  30. gina sterns says:

    Hi I am starting a small catering business in Omaha,Ne. I LOVE your picture of the watermelon cubes/boats with the goat cheese and jalapeno relish. Any chance you would give me permission to use it on my soon to be launched website? I could pay a little…Ooops,just realized it’s cream fraiche, not goat cheese. I am going to find me some watermelon this weekend and make these puppies!

  31. Hi Amanda! It was great to meet you at BlogHer Food! We are very impressed with your blog AND book! I think this appetizer would pair very well with our Mint Melon Margarita (coming soon!)

    Cheers!

    The Fashionably Bombed Girls