We just finished National Watermelon Month (July), but National Watermelon Day is coming up on August 3rd. Here are two ways to enjoy it that may not yet be in your repertoire.
 
WATERMELON SUSHI ROLL

Mango has been a familiar ingredient in sushi rolls for years. But it’s summertime, the season for for watermelon.

In the spirit of eating seasonally, Haru Sushi substitutes fresh watermelon for the mango in a roll made with snow crab, green onion and mint. It’s topped with shrimp and served with a lemon dressing in addition to (or instead of) soy sauce.

If you want to make something similar at home, cantaloupe and honeydew work equally well.

Haru pairs the Watermelon Roll with Watermelon Lemonade, a sweet-tart blend of lemon-infused vodka, saké, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur (a NIBBLE favorite), fresh watermelon, lemon juice and thyme-infused simple syrup. The recipe is below.

Watermelon combines with conventional ingredients in this sushi roll. Photo courtesy Haru.

And if you’d like to know the different types of sushi better, check out our Sushi Glossary.

RECIPE: WATERMELON LEMONADE

Ingredients Per Drink

 
For The Simple Syrup

It’s not so innocent: This watermelon lemonade has watermelon and lemonade, but also citron vodka and elderflower liqueur. Photo courtesy Haru.

Preparation

1. MAKE the simple syrup: Combine the thyme, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. Strain the thyme from the syrup and refrigerate in an airtight container.

2. MUDDLE the watermelon cubes in a mixing glass. Add the remaining ingredients (except garnish) and ice, and shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds

3. POUR into a tall, ice-filled glass. Garnish with thyme and lemon peel.
 
THE HISTORY OF WATERMELON

Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, is believed to have originated in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa (it covers much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa). An ancestor of the modern watermelon still grows wild there.

Watermelon is a member of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. Its cousins include cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins and squash.

Watermelon was cultivated as early as 2000 B.C.E. The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt. You can tell how much the Egyptians enjoyed watermelon: Seeds were found in the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen, so his farmers could grow it in the afterlife.

Thirsty traders passing through the Kalahari, refreshed by the fruit, began to sell the seeds along the trade routes. The cultivation of watermelon spread throughout Africa.

Most culinary historians believe that watermelon spread from Egypt to other Mediterranean basin countries on merchant trading ships. According to John Mariani’s The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, the word first appeared in English dictionaries in 1615. Watermelon seeds came to the U.S. with African slaves as well as with British colonists.

Watermelon was cultivated in China and other parts of Asia by the end of the 9th century C.E. or the early 10th century. Today China is the world’s number one producer of watermelon, Turkey is the second-largest producer and Iran is third. The U.S. is the world’s fourth-largest producer of watermelon, tied with Brazil.

Watermelons come in a variety of shapes and sizes: Oval, round, even square, developed in Japan for smaller refrigerators. The flesh can be red or yellow; botanists have also developed varieties with orange and white flesh and even this multicolored blue-green watermelon.
 
Here’s more about watermelon history, nutrition and tips.

Mustard has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years, beginning in India in 3000 B.C.E. It grew wild in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The ancient Greeks and Romans used mustard as a condiment; some actually chewed the mustard seeds with their meat. Egyptian pharoahs were buried with seeds to use in the afterlife.

Fast forward: By the 1400s, mustard had spread through Europe, with each region making its own style.

Mustard came to the U.S. in the 1700s, with European immigrants who established mustard businesses.

The style of the day was strong, spicy and brown, but later, the yellow “ballpark” mustard style was born in the U.S.A. Here’s more history of mustard.

Five of the 20+ types of mustard made
by Maille Mustard.

For National Mustard Day, commit to trying any of these you aren’t familiar with, plus a flavored mustard. Beyond honey mustard, look for Roquefort mustard, tarragon mustard and walnut mustard—three of our favorites.
 
 
20+ WAYS TO USE MUSTARD

Beyond hot dogs, burgers and sandwiches, mustard is a natural complement to many foods. Before we start the conventional list, take a look at this first course: gravlax with mustard ice cream. There’s no sugar in the ice cream, just novelty. Think of it as a cold mustard cream sauce!

 
Thanks to Colman’s Mustard for some of these yummy ideas. Click the link for recipes.
 
 
> MUSTARD HISTORY
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MUSTARD
  

July 31st is National Raspberry Cake Day. You can make one easily, by using raspberry jam as a filling between two layers, using whipped cream to frost the cake, and decorating the top with fresh raspberries.

But for calorie counters, substitute the cake for a pie, and make this reduced calorie raspberry pie from Driscoll’s. It replaces some of the sugar with a noncaloric sugar substitute. And August 1st is National Raspberry Cream Pie Day.

You can add a garnish of whipped cream from an aerosol can. With all the air whipped into the sweetened cream, it has just eight calories per tablespoon.

For this recipe, prep time is 25 minutes; cook time is 1 hour 5 minutes.

If you don’t want a reduced-sugar pie, try this raspberry cream pie recipe.

RECIPE: REDUCED-CALORIE RASPBERRY PIE

Ingredients For 8 Servings
 
For The Crust

 
Optional Garnish

Just-picked raspberries. Photo by J. Eltovski | Morguefile.

1. MAKE the crust: Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ater, one tablespoon at a time, and pulse just until the dough comes together (be careful not to over-mix). Pat the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour.

2. MAKE the filling: Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a large circle about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out a 13-inch circle and gently transfer the dough to a 9-1/2-inch pie plate. Fold the edge of dough under the rim of the plate and crimp to make a decorative crust. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Cut the remaining dough into various small cutouts, using cookie cutters. (Here’s a set of mini leaf cutters. We use this linzer cookie cutter set with a heart, moon, sun and star.)

3. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Top the pie dough shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. (This large pie weight from Chicago Metallic avoids having to pick up the individual weights or beans.)

5. REDUCE the oven temperature to 350°F. Place the raspberries, Splenda, brown sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl and stir until evenly combined. Spoon into prebaked crust. Brush crust with beaten egg and top with small cutouts. Brush cutouts with beaten egg.

6. BAKE for 40 to 45 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving, or chill completely.
 
Find more delicious berry recipes at Driscolls.com.
  

At its simplest, the tip is: Serve fish fillets—baked, grilled, pan-fried, roasted or sautéed—topped with a salad of baby greens, very lightly dressed in vinaigrette or olive oil and lime juice.
 
ADD COLOR TO EVERY PLATE OF FOOD

The salad adds vibrant color to a plate of beige, brown and/or white foods, a longstanding practice of chefs (even if times past, the color was a sprig of parsley). You can add even more color a side of yellow squash, carrots, sautéed heirloom cherry tomatoes or any of these “Rainbow Vegetables.”

The Sea Grill adds fun and flavor by layering the dish with a south-of-the-border spin:

Salad-topped grilled black sea bass in a corn salad-filled tortilla bowl. Photo courtesy The Sea Grill | NYC.

Sautéed cherry tomatoes are another
easy way to add color and flavor to a fish
fillet dish. Here’s a sautéed cherry tomato
recipe from Leite’s Culinaria.

You don’t need to make tortilla bowls: You can place the fish on top of the corn salad, or substitute cucumber salad, beans/legumes/bean purée, guacamole, rice or other starch, or vegetables/vegetable purée. But if you want to make the bowls, here’s how:

RECIPE: TORTILLA BOWLS

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Lightly spray both sides of 8-inch corn tortillas with nonstick cooking spray.

2. PRESS each tortilla over a custard cup, ramekin or other oven-safe bowl; crimp to form the fluted bowl shape. Place on a baking sheet.

3. BAKE for 10 minutes or until the edges are browned. Remove from the oven and cool for 3 minutes. Remove the tortillas from the bowls and cool completely.
 
For larger tortilla bowls that you can use for entrée salads, purchase burrito-size wraps and drape them over a 1-quart ovenproof bowl (we use Pyrex).

We love paella and don’t make it often enough. So when Fagor wrote to us about their paella pan and included a recipe (below) to make paella on the grill, our ears perked up. Before we get to the recipe, here’s a bit about paella, past and present.

> National Spanish Paella Day is March 27th, and World Paella Day is September 20th.

> The grilled paella recipe is below.

> The year’s 11 Spanish food holidays celebrated in the U.S.

> We begin with the history of paella.
 
 
PAELLA HISTORY

Paella (pronounced pie-AY-ya) originated in Valencia, a region on the Mediterranean (east) coast of Spain. It was originally a peasant dish, made by agricultural laborers who cooked a mixture of rice, snails, and vegetables in the fields. Cooked in a pan over an open fire. it was a communal dish, eaten directly from the pan with wooden spoons.

Valencianos who lived closer to the coast added local eel plus butter beans (lima beans). Paella is the type of dish that lends itself to adding whatever you have on hand, so can change seasonally. Recipes thus evolved in many directions.
 
 
MODERN PAELLA

The paella we know today—saffron rice mixed with chorizo, chicken, and seafood—did not evolve until the late 18th century, when living standards rose affording the use of more expensive ingredients—especially saffron, the world’s costliest spice.

It’s easy to vary the ingredients to create any type of paella, including vegetarian and vegan recipes. But three main styles developed in the 19th century:

 
By the mid-1800s, paella included short-grain white rice and a mix of proteins: chicken, duck, rabbit, and snails. Less affluent people often made do with snails alone. The dish was actually a “rice and beans” dish, with a mix of butter beans, Great Northern beans (white beans), and runner beans (green beans).

Artichokes and tomatoes replaced runner beans in the winter. Spices included garlic, pimentòn (sweet paprika), rosemary, saffron, and salt. The dish was cooked in olive oil.

The recipe continued to evolve as chorizo, green peas, olives, and roasted red pepper found their way into the dish.

We’ve seen recipes with chopped chard or escarole, eggplant, fennel, mushrooms, olives, onion, piquillo chiles, red or green bell pepper, snow peas, tomatoes (fresh diced or roasted), and seasonal (spring asparagus and winter squash, e.g.). Some cooks garnish the top of the paella with sliced hard-boiled eggs and lemon wheels.

The cook’s favorite ingredients were sure to be included. The chef at Soccarat, a group of tapas and paella restaurants in New York City, devised a paella menu that includes:

[2] Seafood paella on the grill (photo © A Couple Cooks.

[3] Chorizo and seafood paella; pan from IMUSA (photo © IMUSA).

[4] Paella is a freestyle dish: Whatever you have on hand can go into the pan. Here, chicken legs and thighs, green beans and corn are included. Our personal favorite combination: a mixto with pimento (red bell pepper in a jar), black and green olives, artichoke hearts and green peas, plus fresh asparagus in the spring (photo © Williams-Sonoma.com).

This recipe, sent to us by Fagor, takes about 40 minutes. Created by A Couple Cooks, can easily be made as a vegan dish. You can also add the traditional mixto ingredients, chicken thighs and sliced chorizo.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

1. HEAT the grill to medium-high heat. Prepare the ingredients: Scrub the mussels or clams; place them in a bowl with the shrimp. Slice the zucchini and mushrooms; chop the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Place the vegetables in a bowl.

2. MINCE 4 cloves of garlic and put them in a small bowl with 3 tablespoons olive oil. In a medium bowl, place ½ cup tomato purée and 5½ cups broth; mix to combine. In another bowl, add 2 cups arborio rice, 1 pinch saffron, 2 tablespoons pimentón, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and a good amount of fresh ground pepper.

3. ASSEMBLE the paella: Bring the bowls of ingredients and the paella pan to the grill. Prior to cooking, add about 15 briquettes to the fire to keep the temperature up. Place the pan on the grill and add the olive oil and garlic; cook for about 30 seconds. Add the vegetables; cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the seafood; cook for about 2 minutes, flipping the shrimp once. Pour in the rice and spices so that they cover the pan. Add the broth and purée mixture and stir to combine.

4. COOK the paella for 20 to 30 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Cook uncovered on a charcoal grill or with the cover down on a gas grill. Make sure not to stir, since this is when the soccorat develops. (Editor’s note: Soccorat is the rice crust on the bottom of the pan, which some people find very exciting. We personally don’t like hard, crunchy rice).

5. CHECK to see that the rice on the bottom does not burn; it cooks fairly quickly. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for about 5 to 10 minutes to cool.
 
 
WHY BUY A PAELLA PAN?

Why not make paella in a roasting pan or other vessel you already have?

You can, of course; but a paella pan is specifically designed for seamless heat conduction and retention. Fagor’s, with a heavyweight and enamel-on-steel design, is a great heat conductor on the grill, oven, or stovetop.

You can buy it Fagor Paella Pan or at retailers like Bed, Bath & Beyond. Be sure to get the 15-inch size. With a dish like paella, you want to make as much as you can and enjoy the leftovers.

A paella pan is a versatile piece of cookware that can also be used to make:

 
And the pan easily goes from stove to table (don’t forget a trivet).

____________

*The word vegetariano does exist in Spanish, but there is some poetic license involved with the orchard reference.

†Fideuà denotes the a type of cuisine from Catalonia, the northeastern part of Spain (north of Valencia). The style originated in the 1920s in the city of Gandia, when thin noodles like vermicelli (fideu in the Catalan language) were used instead of rice in the paella. The pasta is broken into short lengths and cooked in the paella pan. There are many variations of it, and it is optionally served with allioli sauce, the traditional Catalan garlic and olive oil sauce. Other examples of the cuisine: calçots—barbecued spring onions with romesco sauce—cured anchovies, embutidos y butifarras (cured meats and sausages), sparkling Cava wine and anything made with the local bolet mushrooms. Canelons, Spanish cannelloni, and Pa amb tomaquèt, bread rubbed with tomato (and sometimes with garlic and olive oil), and Escudella de carn d’olla, is a hearty Catalan stew, round out the list of “must trys” when you’re next in Barcelona.

‡Soccorat is the hard, crunchy rice crust that develops on the bottom of the pan from its proximity to the heat. Some people particularly enjoy it.