Black Pepper and Honey Marinated Cantaloupe with Basil

This is the second fruit dish that was served at a recent dinner party (see below). This particular dish got the highest praises. It seems an unlikely hit but people commented on how the fruit and pepper combination worked well together. A few days after the dinner party, comments came in saying that this was a particularly memorable dish. It's definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (coarse grind better)
• 1 cantaloupe, slightly underripe
• 3 tbsp. basil, very thinly sliced
• Flaky sea salt, Maldon preferred

Instructions

• Bring 1 cup of water to a boil
• Peel, seed, and slice cantaloupe into thin slices
• Whisk honey into boiling water and add black pepper then allow to cool
• Place cantaloupe slices in a 9x13 baking dish
• Add honey/water mixture and stir to coat
• Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight
• Drain and discard excess syrup from the mixture
• Sprinkle with basil and sea salt
• Garnish with a basil sprig

Link to the original recipe is here.