Prosciutto-Wrapped Watermelon Stuffed with Goat Cheese & Jalapeño

The Saturday after Labor Day, I cooked a Five-Course dinner for an old roommate of mine and about 18 of our friends (do the math, that’s 100 individual plates of food). The second course was a dish of my own creation: Prosciutto-Wrapped Watermelon, Stuffed with a combination of Goat Cheese & Jalapeño. I had decided that rather than simply taking a piece of watermelon and a piece of cheese and wrapping the two with prosciutto, I would add some depth of flavor. I would cut blocks of watermelon and then use an apple-corer to make a hole in the center, into which I would pipe my mixture of cheese and peppers. I would then wrap the entire block with prosciutto and grill it. Grilling, however; became an impossibility when it began to practically monsoon that night. Instead, I placed the blocks in a hot sauté pan with a little bit of oil and cooked them until the outsides were crisp, but before the cheese inside began to melt. If I say so myself, the combination of the salty prosciutto, sweet watermelon, creamy goat cheese and spicy jalapeño is a perfect match. The other wonderful part about this recipe is the remaining watermelon can be used to make Granitas.
Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Prosciutto Wrapped Watermelon with Goat Cheese & Jalapeño

2 Large Watermelons, rind removed*
30 Slices – Prosciutto
2 Cups – Goat Cheese
8 Jalapeños, seeded & minced
1/8th Cup – Honey
¼ Cup – Olive Oil
1 Piping Bag
1 Box – Wooden skewers, cut in half & soaked in water

Slice the watermelon into rectangular pieces approximately three inches long, one & one half inches wide and one & one half inches tall. Cut each piece in half lengthwise and scoop out the center using a melon-baller or small spoon (this center pulp can be reserved for watermelon soup, granitas, &c. The center can also be removed using an apple-corer, without cutting the watermelon blocks in half). In a medium sized bowl, combine goat cheese, jalapeño & honey and mix thoroughly. Take combined cheese & jalapeño mixture and fill each piece of watermelon using a small spoon or piping bag. When each watermelon block is filled, wrap with a slice of prosciutto and secure meat in place with a skewer. Brush each wrapped block with oil, then place in refrigerator for at least thirty minutes. Preheat or turn on grill.
Remove blocks from refrigerator and place on grill at a 45° angle. Grill for approximately 2-to-3 minutes, then rotate 90° and grill for another 2-to-3 minutes (this should ensure nice crossedhatch marks). Flip blocks over and continue to grill, rotating the same way. When the blocks are ready, the prosciutto should be crispy and the watermelon should begin to release its juices.
Remove from the grill and serve warm or at room temperature.

*Each watermelon should yield 15 pieces that are approximately 1½x1½x3 inches.