Melon Tempura

I woke up and needed something fried.  I knew dumplings were out because of our locale and the time commitment needed to make them from scratch--which I have done in times of true desperation.  Instead, I started thinking about tempura.  Tempura is light, crispy and can be decadent as well.  Now the question was what to fry.  I reached straight for our melon confit, a new staple ingredient in the kitchen.  I made a batter with cake flour, an egg and soda water.  I dusted sections of the melon in cornstarch and then dipped them in the coarse tempura batter I assembled.  Once the melon was I coated I started frying.  While the melon fried, I pulled out some chorizo-yogurt and sake cured steel head trout roe to garnish the fried sections.  A few sprouts of cumin finished off the dish.  The crispy tempura batter provided an incredible contrast to the firm yet melting melon confit.  The chorizo yogurt added meatiness, acidity and spice.  The roe was a decadent addition which actually added more variety to individual bites than I first anticipated.  The cumin added a nutty buttery taste and aroma.  The dish was a success, yet as I pondered the tastes and textures I thought about serving a larger section of the melon confit.  Coming soon, melon tonkatsu.