Pineapple and Melon Salad
- 7 oz green beans , boiled
- 1 pineapple
- 1 melon
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 1 green pepper
- 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon parsley , chopped
- few drops of Tabasco sauce
- ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- salt
Wash and dry the melon, then cut into half. Peel half of the melon and dice. Slice the other half into thin pieces, keeping the peel on. Peel the pineapple and cut into fairly large chucks.
Roughly chop the boiled French beans and pepper. Quarter the tomatoes. Blend together the oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, Tabasco and chopped parsley to make a citronette.
Arrange the salad directly on individual plates and dress with the citronette that you just made.
Food History
Despite the fact that pineapple originally comes from Central-South America, Christopher Columbus tasted it for the first time on the island of Guadalupe in the Caribbean, where it probably arrived thanks to the native population of modern day Brazil who came to the island by canoe. Columbus discovered that the Indians, who called this strange fruit “nana,” used the juice to improve one’s skin and help digestion. Having enjoyed the flavor of pineapple, Columbus immediately sent some of the fruit to the Spanish court where it was called “piña,” because it looked like a large pinecone. Although King Ferdinand seemed to like pineapple, the fruit had a hard time spreading across Europe, mostly due to the fact that it as difficult to transport and couldn’t been grown in Europe. With the invention of the steamboat in the 18th century, pineapple could finally be shipped to the Old World more easily, at a lower cost, resulting in gradual diffusion.
Other suggested recipes