Riverview CSA subscriber Andrea B. sent me this recipe and a note the last time we had a melon in our box:
I thought I’d share a recipe back. It’s from Publix. It’s not fancy, in fact at first it sounds quite odd, but it is delicious and a great way to use the cantaloupe we’d been getting. I hope there will be more later in the summer so I can make it again! It’s great with Riverview farms sausage (I used cheddarwurst the last time) …. and Charlotte tells me that the pigs love cantaloupe, so I guess they are meant to go together!
Ingredients:
8 oz linguini pasta 6 oz chicken (or pork) Italian sausage (2–3 links) 3 cups cantaloupe chunks 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon tomato paste 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 2 cups baby arugula leaves (3 oz) 1/4 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup shredded Romano/Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Cook pasta following package instructions.
While pasta is cooking, preheat large sauté pan on medium 2–3 minutes. Remove casing from sausage and place sausage in pan; cook 3–4 minutes, stirring to crumble meat, or until no pink remains. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.
Place cantaloupe in same pan; cook and stir 8–10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in cream, lemon juice, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and red pepper into cantaloupe; cook and stir 1–2 minutes or until sauce has reduced by about one-half.
Stir in arugula, basil, reserved sausage and cooked pasta. Top with cheese; serve.