Honeydew, Blackberry, and Basil

Often the overlooked cousin of cantaloupe, honeydew can be bland if it’s not properly ripe, so look for bright green flesh and a sweet perfume. This salad makes a great entrée with the addition of prosciutto, or a nice light way to finish a meal.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (loosely packed) basil, plus extra leaves to serve
  • 110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar
  • 1.1 kg (about ½) honeydew melon, cut into thin wedges
  • 300 gm blackberries (2 punnets)

Instructions

  1. Process basil and sugar in a small food processor or pound with a mortar and pestle until well combined and sugar is bright green. Basil sugar is best used fresh.
  2. Arrange honeydew melon on a serving platter and refrigerate until required. In a bowl, coarsely crush blackberries and 2 tbsp basil sugar with a fork and refrigerate for 20 minutes for flavours to develop.
  3. To serve, spoon blackberries over the honeydew wedges, then scatter with basil sugar and basil leaves.