If you go to Mexico City and leave without a pressing, relentless craving for melon, or really just about any fruit, sprinkled with tajín (salsa en polva), a branded seasoning powder comprised of chiles, lime and salt, I think you need to go back because you did it wrong. It feels melodramatic to call this intersection of tangy spice and juicy fruit a national dish, but the spice blend is a staple on tables and at street vendors all over Mexico, and I dare say more popular than ketchup is here. If you go to someone’s home and they have a bottle of tajin in their cabinet, it’s usually right up front and there’s a spare somewhere near because it would be unfathomable to run out. If asked, the person will probably tell you that they had it once over melon, mango, pineapple or cucumbers one time, or maybe in a michelada and they could never eat it another way again. I hope you consider that a warning. 
Although in Mexico it’s a street snack, as unfussy as can be, but because I’m a no-fun person who hates eating standing up, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make a salad of it for some time and finally figured it out. Here, the lime juice is squeezed fresh, the chili powder is sprinkled to taste, the salt is coarse and I add other accents — roasted pepitas, crumbled cotija and chopped cilantro. It works as part a brunch spread (I think all brunch spread need more salad), with some sort of taco-centric meal or as the heat wave salad of my dreams. Continue reading
chile-lime melon salad
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