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Watermelon with sweet pesto

Add a little confectioner's sugar to a basil pesto and use it as a sauce on sweet melon.

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The Runaway Spoon
Basil is a wonderful flavor to combine with melon. Here watermelon is drizzled with a sweetened basil pesto.

Watermelon and mint are a classic summer pairing. I love it in a sorbet or a sweet tea drink. But basil is a great match with melon as well, so I worked up this sweet pesto, with the herby, grassiness of basil and a little undernote of mint. It really is a fresh taste of the summer garden.

Serve the watermelon however you like – in thin wedges, big chunks or pretty balls. Toss it as a salad or drizzle over pieces. The pesto is also good on other melons and fruits.

Watermelon with sweet pesto

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/3 cup neutral flavored oil, like grapeseed or canola

1 small watermelon

1. Put the basil, mint, confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor (I like to use a small one) and process until finely chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in the oil until well blended.

2. The watermelon is up to you – wedges, balls, rough chunks. Drizzle with the pesto before serving.

3. Store the pesto in a jar in the fridge for up to a day. Shake well before serving.

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