Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Watermelon Salad




I have to tell you, I was surprisingly shocked at how good this was!  We had a huge family party for 3 of my nieces this past weekend.  Two of them are leaving the country, one for medical school, one to teach, and the third niece received her masters degree.  I will also tell you that there was only a one cup serving left!  This recipe is from Food & Wine.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did!



1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon Tabasco (I forgot to add this)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
One 8-pound seedless watermelon, scooped into balls with a melon baller or cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks (10 cups), chilled
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled (2 cups)
1 1/4 cups pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (optional)
1 small sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves


In a large bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt, Tabasco and pepper. Add the watermelon, feta, olives and onion and toss gently. Garnish with the mint and serve.


In the top photo; the front row middle and far right girls are leaving the country and in the back row, in red, received her masters degree.

Those same girls are from left to right the 2nd, 3rd & 4th young ladies. xo



25 comments:

  1. I love watermelon but have only ever been eating it on its own, or maybe with a slice of Parma ham for starters. Your recipe sounds perfect for a hot day! I'd leave out the olives, though - I am not fond of olives, although I really like olive oil and use it almost exclusively in my kitchen. Kosher salt? This is the first time I ever hear of that. Surely any normal table salt would do?

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    1. You could use sea salt in place of kosher salt. I also imagine table salt would work, but I'd only use half the amount. The kosher grain is a lot bigger than table salt.

      Here's a definition of Kosher salt: Koshering salt, usually referred to as kosher salt in the US, is a variety of edible salt with a much larger grain size than some common table salt. Like common table salt, kosher salt consists of the chemical compound sodium chloride.

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  2. I've eaten a similar salad and I know just how good it is. Your nieces are so pretty and have wonderful careers ahead of them. How fun that they all got together at your house Mary.
    Sam

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    1. Thank you Sam. Between my brother's cottage (next door) and ours we hosted 24 people!

      I'm very fortunate to have kind, thoughtful and loving nieces. Their parents did an amazing job! These four are more like sisters (two are) than cousins!

      Everyone loved the salad too! :)

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  3. Looks like a great summertime salad.

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    1. Hi Larry, you'd love it! It's easy to adjust depending on the size of your watermelon! Hood you can try it!

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  4. Now that's a fun before and after! That watermelon salad looks so refreshing and tasty. Had to pin!

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    1. Hi Vee, pin away! LOL! The salad was so delicious! The hubs picked out the watermelon!

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  5. This sounds absolutely amazing! I'll bet red onion would be good in it, too.

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    1. Hi Nellie, I actually used red onion because I didn't have the other one! LOL

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  6. I have a watermelon in the fridge which is virtually tasteless.. I think I will try this recipe so I don't end up giving it to my sheep and goats. I love all the ingredients. Lovely party!

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    1. Nothing worse than a flat watermelon! I hope you like it!

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    2. What a great family celebration and get together! Your recipe looks wonderful! Thanx for sharing!

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  7. Feta and watermelon is such a gorgeous combo. I had this in Italy two weeks ago and I too was surprised by how amazing that salty cheese works with the sweet fruit. So pretty too.

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    1. HI Dom, it's that salty/sweet combination, it seems to work every time, even with these two! How was Italy? I'm so jealous!

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  8. I love watermelon salads! I have an entire board on Pinterest devoted to watermelon, si I'll pin this! Best wishes to your nieces on their endeavors abroad!

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    1. Hi Pat, thank you for your kid words about my nieces, I will miss them like crazy! They are so much fun!

      I follow you on Pinterest, but I'll have to check out your watermelon board!

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  9. I love watermelon salads in the summer and this is one I haven't tried as yet. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure the party was lots of fun. One thing I know is that there must have been lots of good food for the memorable occasion. Karen

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    1. Hi Karen, thank you, I hope you like it! Hmm, for some strange reason, we never seem to run out of good homemade food at our family parties! LOL

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  10. Beautiful girls. Congratulations to them, and wishes for every success that their hearts desire :)

    Thanks for sharing the salad, it looks tasty, even to a girl like me that isn't a watermelon lover.

    Have a great day!!

    Kerin

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    1. Hi Kerin, they are beautiful, inside and out and I love them like crazy! They will be missed when they move!

      We love watermelon, and it was an easy salad to make, not to mention popular!

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  11. What a wonderful summer salad, Mary! What a great find in the summer recipes from Food and Wine! It's a great magazine! As for your big family party ...isn't it terrific to see the girls grown and ready to conquer their worlds? You must be pretty proud!

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    1. Hi Susan, it was a great find! I think it will be making a regular appearance on our summer menus!

      I'm thrilled for all my nieces achievements! They make me burst with pride!

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  12. We'd made something similar at our class at the CIA. I love these flavors together. That's what I love about cooking, you put a few simple ingredients together and get something fresh and delicious.

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  13. What a sweet post, love the pictures and the salad, it's a keeper!

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