SUN SWEET MELON, GREZZINA COURGETTE AND ALMOND SALAD WITH ELLIE BOUHADANA

It’s the middle of June, the height of melon season in northern Italy, and a salad that heroes this fruit feels just right. In this recipe, Ellie lets our Sun Sweet variety shine, pairing the fruit with tender Grezzina, a near seedless courgette with delicate skin and a buttery interior. Our Sun Sweet variety is grown by Oscar in Sermide, a grower we’ve worked with since 2015. His longstanding reputation for exceptional quality comes down to time and care: slow-growing methods and thoughtful cultivation result in melons with a lush, scoopable flesh and a depth of sweetness.

The way Ellie cooks is effortless – a story in itself. Guided by intuition, creativity and memory, she moves through the kitchen with total ease. It’s the kind of familiarity that can only come from a lifetime connected to food.

Food has always been at the centre of Ellie’s family life. “We’d look forward to Shabbat dinners on a Friday night together, where my grandmother and mum would cook,” she shares. This is what formed the foundations for her passion for hospitality.

“I want spaces to feel warm, relaxed and welcoming – an environment that anyone can join. It’s never a hassle to have another guest.”

Her debut cookbook, Ellie’s Table: Food From Memory and Food From Home draws on these same sentiments. Influenced by her Moroccan, Israeli and Eastern European background, the part recipe book, part journal is described as a celebration of “eating well, eating seasonally and eating together.” Values that resonate with us at Natoora.

Take this Sun Sweet Melon and Grezzina Courgette Salad: a dish layered with flavour and meaning, and lifted by seasonal vibrancy. It’s peppered with spices that carry her back home. “I’ve grown up with herbs like coriander, chillies and cumin, so I like to bring parts of my childhood into my cooking – it adds depth and a twist you don’t often find in classic European dishes,” she says. “Sumac [in this recipe, Wild Heimang Sumac from Diaspora Co] is also a great one to add more tang.”

This summer, Ellie will be running pop-ups in both Athens and Marseille – two cities with food scenes that are as vibrant as they are unique. Follow her journey on Instagram for an inside look at her creative process and upcoming events.

SUN SWEET MELON, GREZZINA COURGETTE AND ALMOND SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp aged white wine vinegar
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Senia from Natoora)
1 Unwaxed Lemon
Pinch of flaky sea salt
Pinch of cracked black pepper
1 bunch coriander
1 green chilli (depending on spice levels)
2 Grezzina Courgettes
1/2 Sun Sweet Melon
1 ball of buffalo mozzarella
1 pinch Wild Heimang Sumac from Diaspora
100g salted almonds
Anchovies (optional)

METHOD

1. Make the dressing by whisking together vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon, salt, pepper and sumac. Cut the coriander and chilli finely and whisk these into the dressing, too.
2. Slice the Grezzina Courgettes into thin circles and cut the Sun Sweet Melon into small wedges.
3. Place the melon, courgette and almonds in a large bowl, and toss with the dressing.
4. Next, tear the mozzarella into a few large chunks and arrange the dressed melon, courgette and almond salad over the top. Add a glug of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
5. Serve with anchovies for an added salty kick.  

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What inspired you to become a chef?

My family background is super food-oriented, so I’ve always been around food. We’d look forward to Shabbat dinners on a Friday night together, when my grandma would cook with my mum. Food was at the centre of our family.

This is definitely where my ability to entertain came from, too. I wanted spaces to feel warm, relaxed and welcoming. An environment that anyone can join. It’s never a hassle to have another guest.

I then began working in restaurants and I was doing my own catering as well. I learnt by literally asking the chefs a million questions!

Have you worked at any restaurants we’d know?

I worked at a pretty iconic wine bar in Melbourne called Cicciolina. It's this gorgeous little restaurant – old school, fun, romantic and relaxed, and more recently headed up the kitchen at Hope Street Radio.

What makes a great salad?

Acid – like lemon and vinegar with really good garlic and high quality olive oil. Simple ingredients, but the very best. For me, Natoora’s produce speaks to that.

I especially love good wine vinegars, so this kind of dish with sweet melon works so well with the acid and some salt from the almonds or a really good anchovy. I like to add a squeeze of lemon which adds more brightness and balances out that salty sweetness. It turns fruit on the plate into a real dish. To get the right balance, I sort of make it up, but keep tasting and tweaking until it fits.

I’ve grown up with herbs like coriander, chillies and cumin so I like to bring parts of my childhood into my cooking – it adds depth and a twist you don’t often find in classic European dishes.

Do you have a favourite season?

I love summer. I like to eat bright meals with lots of fish and herbs!

Your cookbook feels like a summer holiday – do you have a favourite recipe from it?

Probably my Moroccan-style fish cake or lamb kebabs, which have heaps of herbs and chili.

You’ve travelled a lot for your book launch and pop-ups. What’s your favourite city to eat and cook in?

I really find it hard to say what my favourite city is, especially for cooking! I like different cities for different things. For example, I’ll always like the chilled energy of home, and I feel we're super lucky in Melbourne. We’ve got less options but the quality is so good. That's what I learned last year when I was traveling. The quality is unbelievable and you can stumble upon anything and it’ll be good. 

I love New York. That's a classic. It’s so crazy and I love how lively it is. The energy is amazing – so many ideas and you feel like anything is possible. I also love Athens a lot. It reminded me so much of my family.

Favourite restaurant you’ve cooked in?

Saying all that, when I cooked at Cafe Deco in London last year, I reckon that was my favourite place. Anna Tobias’ detailed focus on good produce was something that I really want to take with me if I open up my own spot.