Checkerboard Melon Salad

Checkerboard Melon Salad

• • 3 small melons of contrasting colors, such as seedless Watermelon, Cantaloupe and Honeydew

  • honey or agave nectar

  • ground cinnamon or nutmeg

  • sprigs of fresh basil or mint

Cut each melon in half and scoop out the seeds. Remove the rind. Cut each half into 3/4-inch slices, then cut the slices into 3/4-inch cubes. (Save any leftover odd-sized pieces for juicing, adding to a smoothie or making popsicles.)

For each serving, you'll need 9 cubes of each color, for a total of 27 cubes. Arrange the cubes of melon in 3 layers, alternating the colors.

Drizzle with the honey or agave nectar, sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, and garnish with fresh herbs. Enjoy!

To create a large pyramid salad, make it as high as you like for as much fruit as you have. To calculate how many cubes you'll need for each level of a pyramid rather than a square, just add 2 cubes to the edges as you go down; for example, the top of the pyramid will be just one cube. The second level would be 3x3 cubes (total of 9), the 3rd level would be 5x5 cubes (total of 25), the 4th level would be 7x7 cubes (total of 49), the 5th level would be 9x9 cubes (total of 81), etc... To make a 5-level pyramid salad, you would need to cut 165 cubes, which may be all the square pieces you could get from three small melons.

Yields about 6 servings.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen