Cantaloupe-Cucumber Salsa & Spice-Rubbed London Broil

I've never made either of these things before but I thought they would go together well for a potluck I was attending, and the salsa made good use of the cantaloupe, jalapenos and tomato from our last CSA haul. The salsa was good, but the London Broil was GREAT, and I should remember this for the future. It was really easy and not expensive (under $7 and would probably make 4-6 dinner servings), and disappeared pretty quickly at the party. I think more people ate the salsa with chips than with the meat, but it's good with chips too. Also over eggs the next morning.

Cantaloupe-Cucumber Salsa

The essentials in this (according to most recipes online) are the cantaloupe, lime juice, onion, jalapeno and cilantro - but the other veggies are good in it as well.

- Dice half a red onion and add to a bowl with the juice of 1 lime while you prepare the other ingredients (I have a theory this starts pickling/mellowing the raw onion; not sure if that's true but go for it...)

- Cut half a cantaloupe into small cubes and add to the bowl. Dice finely and add: 1-2 jalapenos, seeded* (two made it fairly spicy), half a red bell pepper, 1 large cucumber (seeded), 1 large tomato (if in-season and awesome, otherwise don't bother), and about half a bunch of cilantro. Season with salt and toss well.

*I put a plastic produce bag over one hand when I cut/seed jalapenos to prevent the Dreaded Burning.

Spice-Rubbed London Broil

I've seen recipes for coffee-rubbed steak and thought that might be good, but I only mixed a little finely ground coffee in with this to keep it subtle. 'Twas delicious; coffee's probably optional. I did not measure the spices but there was probably about 2 Tablespoons of the rub total. Use whatever floats your boat. I'm sure this would be good on the grill too, but it's easy in the broiler.

- Take yer London Broil out of the fridge. Might be sold as "top round" depending on the store. I think my piece was between 1-1.5 lbs.

- Mix together the spice rub. I used cumin, smoked paprika, a garlic-onion blend, chili powder and kosher salt. Optional - add a teaspoon or so of finely ground coffee beans.

- Coat the meat with a little bit of olive oil and rub the rub on both sides. Let sit while you preheat the broiler. 

- Preheat your oven's broiler and a broiler pan (or baking sheet with a rack on it).

- Put steak on the pan and broil for 5 minutes on each side which should hopefully be a perfect medium rare.

- Let sit for 10 minutes and slice thinly against the grain.