Cantaloupe and Arugula Salad with Crispy Bacon

The melon-and-cured-pork classic as a dinner salad — ripe cantaloupe wedges with peppery arugula, crisp bacon, goat cheese, balsamic drizzle, and grilled bread.

30 min Easy

Ingredients

serves 4

From the garden

1 medium ripe cantaloupe or muskmelon, seeded and sliced into thin wedges, rind removed
5 cups arugula
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, torn (optional)

From the pantry

8 slices thick-cut bacon — standing in for the classic prosciutto
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil — plus more for the bread
8 slices crusty bread, thick-cut
salt — to taste
black pepper

Steps

tap a step to dim it as you go

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until deeply crisp, 8–10 minutes, turning once. Drain on paper towels and break into big shards. Keep a tablespoon of the fat.
Simmer the balsamic vinegar in a small pan over medium-low 2–3 minutes, until it reduces by half and coats the back of a spoon — watch closely, it goes from syrup to burnt fast. Set aside to cool and thicken.
Brush the bread with olive oil and toast on a grill, grill pan, or under the broiler until golden with charred edges, 1–2 minutes per side. Sprinkle with salt while still hot.
Arrange the arugula loosely on a platter and lay the melon wedges over it. Season the melon itself with salt and black pepper — salting the fruit is what makes the sweet-savory combination land.
Scatter on the bacon, goat cheese, and mint, drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic reduction, and serve with the grilled bread alongside — brushed with the reserved warm bacon fat if you're feeling generous.