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Michael Psilakis |
Do you remember the post where Doug and I met ChefMichael Psilakis? We were thrilled to have met him in person and receive an
autographed copy of his cookbook, “How to Roast a Lamb”.
Chef Michael is passionate about his family and career,
and is extremely down-to-earth. If we lived near any of his New York restaurants, we’d
certainly be regular diners. Instead, we are
content to watch him on TV - and I follow him on Facebook.
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Grilled Watermelon and Yogurt (Image from Food and Wine) |
In Chef Michael’s version, he prepares this on an outdoor
grill. I’ve not only adjusted this recipe to suit our taste, I also use my
indoor, counter top George Foreman grill for this recipe – no fuss, no muss, and
no excessive heat! Naturally, use whichever type of grill you like.
Don’t want to heat up a grill? No problem! Skip grilling
the watermelon altogether, and call this ‘Chilled Watermelon with
Yogurt Topping’. If you prefer the non-grilled method, you can omit step 3
which calls for drizzling oil on the melon slices, and sprinkling with salt and
pepper.
Here’s my version of Chef Michael Psilakis’ Grilled
Watermelon with Yogurt.
Grilled
Watermelon with Yogurt Topping
Topping
Ingredients:
1 cup plain low-fat
yogurt (Greek-style, or plain yogurt which has been strained)
(Chef Michael
uses whole-milk plain Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon
freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon
zest
1 tablespoon
extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup chopped
fresh mint leaves, divided
8 to 10 (1-inch)
triangular watermelon slices
Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine the yogurt with the lemon juice,
zest, 2 Tbsp. of the chopped mint, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix in salt
and pepper to taste.
(Chef
Michael suggests making the yogurt topping one day in advance, refrigerating it overnight and bringing it to room temperature before serving.)
2. Heat the George Foreman grill on high with the lid
closed. (Mine doesn’t have any heat settings, so it’s always on high heat.)
3. Drizzle the watermelon triangles with olive oil and
season with salt and pepper. Place 2 melon slices on the GF grill at a time,
close the lid, and grill until nicely charred, about 1 minute. Continue grilling
until all melon slices are done.
4. Transfer melon to
serving plates. Top each slice with a dollop of yogurt sauce. Drizzle with
olive oil; garnish with the remaining mint and serve.
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