SS&GF: Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

I’d read somewhere, though I can’t recall exactly where, that grilled cantaloupe was divine. This I must try, I thought to myself. I cleaned my cantaloupe, sliced it in wedges, heated my grill pan, and got busy grilling. Grilled melon gives off a slightly musky, pumpkin-y scent that didn’t exactly make my mouth water. Hmm…it must get better after it’s cooked, I thought.

Then it was time to flip the melon. A simple task, yes? No. My beautiful melon slid all over – the spatula was challenging, the tongs worthless. The once perfect crescents were now dented and marred. I resigned to flipping the melon with my fingers. The dark grill marks gave an intriguing contrast to the light colored flesh. This might just work, I thought. A few more minutes passed and I deemed that the melon was grilled, then set it on a plate, and commenced my official tasting.

The first bite tasted like what one would expect when biting into a warm jack-o-lantern. Could it be that I’m just not used to the flavor? So I took another bite. And then another, and then one more just to make sure. Into the trash can it went. I hope to one day trust my palate enough to end unnecessary suffering swiftly.

So, I smartly used fresh cantaloupe and inspiration from A Gluten-Free Guide’s Strawberry Poppy Seed Tart with Ricotta Mascarpone Filling to put together this simple, yet elegant, dessert. Your dinner guests will never know that you didn’t slave over the sauce for hours, nor will they ever suspect that it’s simply sugar-free.

If you don’t know the simplest way to peel a slice and cantaloupe, make sure to read this.

Also, take a few minutes to stop by Simply…Gluten Free and peruse this month’s Go Ahead Honey…It’s Gluten-Free! Manly Food Round-Up. You’ll find many dishes sure to please any man, including my Pork Roast, Gravy, & Carrots.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday. Stop by and add your real food recipe!

Printer-friendly recipe

Fresh Cantaloupe with Mascarpone Cream & Double Berry Sauce
Serves 4 -5 depending on the size of your cantaloupe.

Ingredients:

1 cantaloupe, cleaned and sliced in crescents

Double Berry Sauce:
1 (12 ounce) jar of sugar-free seedless berry jam (I used blackberry)
8 ounces strawberries, hulled & sliced
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon light agave nectar
zest from ½ lemon

Mascarpone Cream:
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (I used part-skim but any type will work)
1 teaspoon light agave nectar
2 teaspoos vanilla extract

To make the Double Berry Sauce, empty the jam into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Place the strawberries, water, agave, and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Heat to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes or until strawberries are soft but not falling apart. Pour entire contents of pan into food processor. Pulse a few times to mix ingredients and then process until absolutely smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cool.

To make the mascarpone cream, place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and process until absolutely smooth.

Place 2 slices of sliced cantaloupe on each plate. Drizzle the cooled sauce over the sliced cantaloupe by placing it in a zip-top bag, closing the top and slicing a tiny corner off of the bottom. Squeeze gently. Place the mascarpone cream on the plate. Again, a zip-top bag is a simple way to get it neatly onto the plate. Place the cream in the bag and zip it closed. Cut the corner off and pipe onto the plate.

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