When Rosuara – the lovely owner of my favourite fruit and vegetable in Ibiza store Viva Flor tipped me off about her ripe and ready home grown watermelons, I was there like a shot. I’ve never actually seen them growing before – scattered on the ground in the rusty red soil they look weirdly like giant alien eggs that have randomly fallen from outer space, certainly not the usual sight you would see growing in British allotments.

This one caught my eye so I brought this big beauty home and then remembered the sublime sangria infused watermelon I had recently had at Heart.

This is one of Albert Adrià’s inspired recipes so I thought I would give it a go – with a few minor tweaks here and there. The only equipment you need is a melon baller, it’s not entirely essential because you can always cube the watermelon with a knife. But I prefer balls!

Also you can infuse watermelon with various alcoholic concoctions…a mojito is another winner, a bit more sophisticated than vodka watermelon from student party days gone by. After a good 24 hours marinating the watermelon takes on a beautiful deep burgundy hue and the flavour really is out of this world, also there is no need to waste that precious marinade…you can slurp away to your hearts content!

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

Half a large watermelon
80g sugar
60ml mineral water
¾ bottle of ‘decent’ red wine
100ml Grand Marnier
150ml brandy
1 cinnamon stick
Handful fresh mint leaves (leave some to garnish)
Zest and juice of one orange

Method

1. First prepare the watermelon – if you have a melon baller then gently form small balls (avoiding the pips if you can). Likewise you can cut into cubes with a knife

2. Mix the water and sugar in a pan and boil until the sugar is disolved

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the syrup with the red wine, Grand Marnier, brandy, orange juice and zest

4. Place the prepared watermelon and sangria mix into a bowl, add the cinnamon stick and fresh mint (but save some of decoration). Marinade for 24h in the fridge