We received some beautiful melons the other day; their aroma tantalized my thoughts, and I eagerly dove into them. The first melon was mine. I cut it open, removed its guts, and devoured the chilled, sweet floral flesh. I took a moment to look around me with melon juices dripping from my fingers. It dawned on me that the guts always go in the garbage while the flesh of the fruit is devoured. I looked at the seeds and realized I could make melon pepitas (the salted dried pumpkin seeds flavored with lime juice). I soaked the seeds to remove any melon membrane and then laid them on a sheet pan to dry. After most of the moisture was gone, I seasoned them with salt and lime juice and dried them further in the oven. The seeds dried and became crunchy and nutty, with undertones of the melon they had come from. With the pepitas in hand, I now had many options. I decided to sprinkle the pepitas on a nigella seed caramel and bake them in the oven to unify the flavors and create a pepita-onion crunch. The finished product marries the multiple flavors into a crisp melon and onion mélange. We will use the crunch with our nori-wrapped black bass and melon-sauternes confiture (the use for the decadent and heady melon flesh).
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