I am not a huge fan of either tomatoes or watermelon. I'll eat them both, but not with great enthusiasm. So I'm not sure what grabbed me when I saw this recipe in Mark Bittman's "The Minimalist" column three years ago, but I wanted to try it immediately. When I served it to my husband that night, he kept saying, "This is really good," alternated with, "This is really weird." And that about sums it up.
I love this salad; I start jonesing for it when the warm weather brings watermelons to the grocery store. When I serve it to guests, they always look at me a little funny. Usually that only lasts until the first bite, though.
Halve 1½ cups of cherry or grape tomatoes, and chunk 2½ cups of seedless watermelon. Slice a half-cup of scallions and crumble a half-cup of feta cheese. (Mark Bittman recommends blue cheese, but I do not love cheap blue cheese and prefer the good stuff unadulterated. He was riffing on a Middle Eastern dish of watermelon and feta in the first place, so I decided to stick with the feta.) Make a dressing from 2T. watermelon juice (no juicer required; take a hunk of watermelon and squeeze), 2T. extra-virgin olive oil, 2T. sherry vinegar (worth tracking down), salt, and a pinch of cayenne. Garnish with a quarter-cup of cilantro. Serve in a glass bowl so the colors show.
This is best the day it's made, but I think I am going to eat some of the leftovers for breakfast anyway.
I've started a Vegetable Project list in the right sidebar, where I'll try to post new recipes regularly. Watch for updates.
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