This is a sweet refreshing salad with the cheesy tang of fresh feta and a mustardy vinaigrette. Cantaloupe adds not only a fruity flavor in this salad but also gives the salad some heft.  

Add in thinly sliced sugar snap peas, thinly sliced onions and cucumber and this becomes a delicious salad that is sweet, fruity, crunchy and tangy.  

Served with crusty bread and a chilled glass of anything drink, this makes for a wonderful light Sunday salad dinner on any hot sweltering summer evening.

The inspiration

The idea for a cantaloupe and sugar snap pea salad came from the May issue of Bon Appetit Magazine. I liked the vibrant photo and the unusual combination of melon and sugar snap peas in the recipe, but the recipe did need a little jazzing up as the only flavor enhancers were salt and Aleppo pepper.

In my recipe I decided to amp up the flavor profile and added a mustard vinaigrette and rather than use ricotta salata as suggested I used goat cheese to give the salad a stronger tangy fresh cheese flavor.

 I love garlic and onions in anything and added minced garlic and sliced onions for more flavor.  Sprinkle some roasted pistachios for some nuttiness and briny olives for that extra pizzaz. All these ingredients turn a beautiful colorful salad into a delicious over the top sweet and flavorful salad. Give it a try!

Cantaloupe and Sugar Snap Peas with Feta

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small cantaloupe about 1lb. Remove rind and cut into thin slices.
• 8oz sugar snap peas – about 2 cups. Remove strings and slice thinly.
• Tarragon leaves – 3-5
• 2 green onions finely cut or onion finely sliced
• Feta cheese or goat cheese as much as you want.
• Mustard Vinaigrette
• 1 garlic clove minced.
• Roasted pistachios as much as you want
• Briny olives (optional) as much as you want

Directions:

• Make the mustard vinaigrette.
• Toss the sugar snap peas with vinaigrette and minced garlic. Set aside.
• Place the cantaloupe on a large platter or bowl. Evenly spread the tarragon leaves, cucumber, and onions over the cantaloupe. Lightly dust with salt and pepper.
• Next evenly distribute the sugar snap peas over the cantaloupe.  Saving the vinaigrette in the bowl to use later.  Next add the feta cheese and olives.
• Right before serving drizzle more vinaigrette over the salad.  Add the roasted pistachios and serve right away.