Introduce acid and bubble into a cocktail with kombucha. This effervescent, living beverage has the sort of bracing acidity you can’t quite get enough of, which keeps you engaged and drinking swig after swig. Pair that with the natural sweetness and hydrating power of watermelon juice and you might as well call yourself a self-care expert.
The flavors of this ceviche were incredible, but what was most surprising was the burnt habanero chile oil drizzled on top. Its heat and bitterness cut through the bright and sweet flavors—it was at once sweet, spicy, and refreshing—in essence, everything I wanted at that moment.
In 2013, after we finished our second peach season, we took off on a five-month trip around the world, including six weeks in India. We zigzagged across the country, starting in Kolkata and ending in New Delhi, with a visit to Nepal along the way. One evening, on a rooftop in the northern city of Varanasi, we ate a peanut salad that we still think about to this day. Creating one for this cookbook felt special—a nod to that extraordinary trip and something that we really wanted to get right. We think we did. The Thai chile and basil, which can be found at your local Asian market; the fish sauce, which contributes complex salty flavors to the dish; the fresh fruits tumbled together with the crunch of peanuts—this is the magic you long for in a summery side dish.
Like cucumber, watermelon loses much of its spirit when subjected to heat, so I almost never recommend it any way other than cold and raw. I’ve made an exception here because more people need to know about the wizardry that happens when watermelon and pork cook slowly together. Everybody who eats this will think the watermelon is tomato. Everybody.
Ingredients
Sprinkle some salt on a slice of watermelon and its flesh contracts to subtle firmness, its aroma blooms, and its flavor crescendos. If that's what a few scattered crystals can achieve, imagine what lavishing that slice with the unerring saline expanse of a salt block will do to it: fragrant, sensual, symphonic.
Throughout Jalisco, this refreshing drink is served in large, wide-mouthed clay bowls, called cazuelas. Citrus wedges are eaten or squeezed into the drink. Partakers pop chunks of watermelon and fresh pineapple into their mouths and sip the tequila-laced libation through a straw.
We had the good fortune to spend a week in Mexico City a few years back, and while we ate killer food like madwomen, we were both entirely won over by the fruit waters, or aguas frescas that Mexicans routinely drink. Made daily with puréed fresh, ripe fruit, water and sugar, they are utterly enchanting and perfect for summertime sipping. You won’t miss the alcohol, we promise.
Because the quality of this drink depends on the quality of the fruit, buy a ripe, deep colored watermelon in season.