While dark leafy greens are an important part of the diet, it’s nice to change things up every once in awhile when it comes to salads. This watermelon salad recipe is a refreshing, sweet twist on a summer salad. Made with salty feta cheese and fresh mint, it’s hard not to love the combination of flavors going on here.
The key to a perfect watermelon salad is to find a sweet watermelon. Since the watermelon is the star of the dish, this salad just won’t work with bland or mushy watermelon.
When you’re shopping for watermelon, you’ll want to look out for a few things:
- First, the watermelon should feel heavy for its size when you pick it up.
- Secondly, the watermelon should have a yellow spot on it from where it once rested on the ground. If it’s not yellow in that spot but instead white or lime green, then the watermelon isn’t ripe yet.
- Finally, when you tap on the watermelon, it should have a deep hollow sound. A watermelon that isn’t ripe will sound dull.
Once you’ve picked out a beautifully crisp and sweet watermelon, you are going to remove the rind and then dice up the fruit. Tossed with feta cheese cubes and fresh mint, you’ve got yourself one fantastic watermelon salad that’ll you’ll be sure to serve up all summer long.
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Cook time: 0 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
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Ingredients
- 3 lbs. seedless watermelon rind removed, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tbsp juice from a lemon
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 oz. good quality feta cheese crumbled or cubed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the watermelon chunks, lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh mint leaves. Toss everything to combine.
- Add a tiny pinch of salt (as the feta will also add saltiness) and a quick grind of black pepper. Again toss to combine.
- Serve the watermelon chunks in a large shallow bowl, then top with feta cheese and an extra drizzle of olive oil (optional).
Additional information
Recipe adapted from seriouseats.com
