Melon Baal Canaf ("Melons with Wings")

3 sm Cantaloupes

1/3 c Oil

3 c Raw chicken or turkey meat

-- chopped 1 ts Salt

2 c Green onions; chopped

1/3 c Parsley; chopped

1/4 c Fresh lemon juice

2 c Cooked rice

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.