Chef Alex Lee used to serve a tomato mosaic at Daniel, and when I got two super-ripe watermelons, one yellow and one red, I mimicked the appearance of his savory dish on my dessert menu. The cheese and granité add depth of flavor. I’m not giving you a yield here, since this is more of a combination of flavors than anything, and you can make as many as you like.
Ingredients
Yellow seedless watermelon
Red seedless watermelon
Fleur de sel or Maldon salt
Belvedere blue cheese or other crumbly blue
Strawberry-Moscato Granité (page 239)
Preparation
Step 1
Cut the melons into 1 1/2-inch slices to make squares.
Step 2
Arrange in a checkerboard pattern on dessert plates. Sprinkle with a little salt. Crumble some blue cheese over the melon. Serve with a small bowl or Chinese soupspoon of granité.
Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.
Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__
