Melon Baal Canaf

Ingredients

3 cantaloupes
3/8 c oil
3 c chicken
1 ts salt
2 c green onions
3/8 c parsley
1/4 c lemon juice
2 c rice

Instructions

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.