In pre-Petrine Moscow, watermelons – as well as melons – were revered as particularly valuable delicacies. Russian cuisine historian Vlad Piskunov, as the brand chef of the Matryoshka restaurant, told socialbites.ca that it is delivered from the southern regions and remains fresh until late autumn.
“For example, in 1668, the tsar sent the Patriarch of Moscow a watermelon as a gift on November 7, according to the old style. There may already be snow in the yard, and a watermelon flaunted on the table. It was truly a royal gift!” said the chief.
In the south of the country, at that time, watermelon was not just a garden crop that could be taken to the palace or eaten at home. It has also been used as an ingredient in dishes.
Among the unusual watermelon desserts, Piskunov chose an old Don dessert – nardek. It is prepared from ripe, most often small watermelons: the pulp is hollowed out with spoons, then squeezed through a sieve, and the resulting sweet syrup is poured into a cast-iron cauldron and boiled in the open air until boiling. a consistency resembling honey.
“The Kazakhs ate nardek for dessert, with bread or buns. And in the book “Russian Cuisine” Vasily Levshin called nardek black juice and suggested making seasonings for frying by adding various spices and onions,” he adds.
The main thing when choosing a watermelon is to observe the principle of seasonality. The chef of the LES restaurant is absolutely sure of this. Andrey Kolodyazhny. In his opinion, the best watermelons are sold from mid-August to the end of September – at the moment they are very loud, sweet, ripe.
“When choosing a watermelon, pay attention to its size, color, yellow edges. Gently tap the edges of the watermelon and you’ll hear a bell if it’s ripe,” says the chef.
Kolodyazhny said that he makes various sorbets and salads from watermelon, and even invites guests of his restaurant to try watermelon steak with pickled dandelion. The chef shared a simple watermelon-lime sorbet recipe with socialbites.ca. You only need two ingredients for cooking – watermelon and lemon.
Cut the watermelon into large cubes, put it in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for several hours until completely frozen. Rinse the lime and remove the peel with a fine grater. Cut a citrus in half and squeeze juice from each half. Pierce the frozen pulp of the watermelon with the grated lemon zest in a blender and put it in the freezer for another hour. Remove the watermelon sorbet, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix again. When serving, put the syrup in a bowl with a heated spoon in hot water.
Evgeny Vasilenko, the brand chef of the Nasushny Khleb restaurant, when choosing a watermelon, do not take the already cracked one, even if the sellers say that it shows its ripeness.
“But if you bought a whole watermelon and already washed it and it cracked only when they started cutting it, you can safely eat it. A ripe watermelon is pretty good, that’s when it’s the sweetest. And one more thing – never eat a watermelon with a white stripe near its base: that rind may contain traces of manure,” she says.
According to Vasilenko, watermelon is an excellent ingredient for salads, especially for salads with cheese.
“The sweet notes of watermelon contrast with the salty feta cheese, while cherry tomatoes and Kalamata olives balance the combination. You can complement the salad with basil leaves and coriander sprigs and season with a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar,” the chef advised.
Press service of the restaurant “Daily Bread”
Nikita Ovchinnikov, chef of the GIGI restaurant, describes a ripe and sweet watermelon with a “button” on the side and yellow spots. As for the sound of watermelon, here the chef has his own theory.
“The sound should not be deaf and high-pitched, but in the middle between them, reminiscent of a rumbling, vibration. A dull sound – watermelon too ripe, too loud – not ripe. Also pay attention to the bark: it should be smooth, undamaged. It should just be one earthy dot, bright yellow,” the chef is sure.
In the heat, Ovchinnikov suggests making watermelon gazpacho with goat cheese. For cooking, you will need watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, soft goat cheese, salt.
Peel the watermelon from the seeds and skins and remove the skin from the tomatoes. Blend the tomatoes, watermelon pulp, cucumber, butter, mint and lemon juice in a blender until smooth. Cut the goat cheese into cubes. Place gazpacho in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and garnish with goat cheese and mint leaves.
According to Yevgeny Mikhailov, chef of the Drinks & Dinners restaurant, the watermelon must have a dry stem and a distinct point of contact with the ground – yellow and possibly slightly flattened.
Press service of the Drinks@Dinners restaurant
“A ripe watermelon has grayish cobwebs on its rind, which increases the chances of recognizing a sweeter bean. The sound should be loud and reverberate all over the walls after you hit the palm of your hand,” says the chef.
The chef shared a recipe for fried watermelon with Adyghe cheese with socialbites.ca. For cooking, you will need a mixture of watermelon, Adyghe cheese, lettuce leaves, vegetable oil, pumpkin seeds. For the sauce – olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper.
Fry a slice of watermelon in vegetable oil for one minute on each side. Then fry the slices of Adyghe cheese for two minutes on each side. Put the cheese on the watermelon and bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Put the cheesy watermelon on a plate, season with sauce and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
The chef of the Septa bar, Yaroslav Inshakov, shared the secrets of choosing sweet watermelons. In addition to a dry tail, correct voice and a yellow side, the chef always pays attention to the weight of the fetus.
“Fruit weight is my favorite way to pick a watermelon, and I’ve never been wrong about it. It is believed that a sweet and ripe fruit weighs at least 8 kg, and I believe this to be true. The fruit should always be heavier than it looks: so if the fruit looks like 8-10 kg and the scales show 14 kg, the watermelon inside is very juicy and fully ripe,” he explains.
Inshakov shared a recipe for watermelon and rhubarb sorbet. For cooking, you will need watermelon, rhubarb, sugar, water, glucose syrup.
Prepare the syrup base: Mix 100 g sugar, 100 ml water, 25 ml glucose syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and mix with a blender. Peel the watermelon and squeeze the pulp together with the rhubarb through the juicer. Mix the watermelon and rhubarb juice with the sherbet base and add another 25 g of glucose syrup. Pierce with a blender until smooth, strain through a sieve and put in the freezer for 3-5 hours. Then reheat the frozen syrup and stir again to remove crystallization. Garnish with fresh watermelon when serving.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.