Melon baal canaf (\"melons with wings\")

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
3 smalls Cantaloupes
⅓ cup Oil
3 cups Raw chicken or turkey meat chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
2 cups Green onions; chopped
⅓ cup Parsley; chopped
¼ cup Fresh lemon juice
2 cups Cooked rice

Directions

Cut each melon in half; remove seeds. Scoop out pulp and reserve.

Heat oil in a skillet and saute chicken or turkey. Add salt and continue to saute until poultry is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Blend in green onions, parsley and lemon juice; continue cooking until onions are soft. Remove from flame and cool.

Add rice to cooled chicken mixture; stuff melon cavities. Chop up 1 cup of reserved melon pulp and place on top. Put stuffed melons into an ovenproof dish; bake at 350 F. for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

The authors write: "Melon Baal Canaf is a dish that is said to disappear as soon as it is placed on the table, as though it had wings."

From _The Yemenite Cookbook_ by Zion Levi and Hani Agabria. New York: Seaver Books, 1988. Pg. 100. ISBN 0-8050-0394-0. Electronic format by Cathy Harned.

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