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.
I'm very intrigued by that salad recipe. I can't wait to make it...just as soon as I locate a decent watermelon.
Posted by: Jennifer | June 08, 2005 at 06:06 AM
Taht sounds just wierd enough to try. Thank you for sharing!
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah | June 08, 2005 at 11:21 AM
Really? Watermelon? The rest sounds yummy but the watermelon kind of freaks me out. But I believe you about it anyway.
Too bad I can;t eat it until after the baby is born, cos I can;t have Feta while I'm pregnant. And Oh, I miss Feta...
Posted by: chasmyn | June 09, 2005 at 01:14 AM