During a vacation in Italy, a friend I was traveling with ordered prosciutto and melon as an appetizer. I thought of all the delicious choices on the menu, it was the most boring. And then I tasted it. Wow! The contrast between the tissue paper thin, perfectly cured, salty prosciutto and the juicy, ripe, sweet melon was incredible.

Back home, I ordered it only to be disappointed. The prosciutto was imported from Italy and paper thin but the melon was tasteless. Finding ripe melon at just the peak of perfection can be a challenge and depends on the time of year.

When melon wasn’t available, I decided to try mango instead. Double wow! I liked it better than the original. I then drizzled really good aged balsamic vinegar* over it and I have never searched for the perfect melon again.

A word about balsamic vinegar. This is the real deal that is as thick as chocolate sauce and pricy. If you don’t have this, omit it! It will still be great. Make sure your mangoes are ripe and that you are using tissue paper thin sliced Prosciutto di Parma. You can look for this at Italian delis, Whole Foods or where I buy mine: at Costco.

A NOTE: * Please read entry on Balsamic Vinegar so you know what to look for and what to buy.

PROSCIUTTO AND MANGO

EVENT: Summer Solstice

SERVES: Serves 10 – 12 People

Ingredients

12 oz (3/4 lb) slices Prosciutto di Parma, sliced very thin

4 mangos, peeled and cut into pieces approximately 1 ½” long

Balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Cut each sliced prosciutto into thirds.

2. Wrap one piece around each piece of mango.

3. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over pieces.

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