Watermelon + Mint Salad

Watermelon + Mint Salad

Old Recipe Salad,Salads,Savoury

“Watermelon – it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.” ~ Enrico Caruso

Last week I threw a small girls night for a little fun and quite a bit of debauchery. Almost every girl you know tries to diet, but a night out is supposed to be cheat day. But when there are enough calories going around in various other forms to cancel out more than a couple of cheat days, you need at least one dish that is easy on the hips.

The watermelon is an amazing fruit with a high content of water, lycophene (which is great for your bones), anti-oxidants and Vitamin C among many other benefits.. It jazzes up any dish and has the flair to spruce up a dull plate and appear all the more “exotique”.

My recipe is a fairly common one, but the taste is simply too divine to not share. The fresh sweetness of the watermelon, with the crunch of nuts, spice of onions, lusciousness of fresh mint leaves (the most crucial, in my opinion) and the creaminess of feta cheese perfectly balances the salad out to impress any guest.

This watermelon salad is perfect for a lazy Saturday lunch with the girls, a low-cal dinner on a hot summer’s day or simply a snack in between work! This will perhaps even allow you to indulge in a slice of cake you’ve been eyeing since morning!

You can substitute any kind of nut or seeds in place of almonds – pistachios, walnuts and pumpkin seeds work just as well.

If you don’t have feta cheese, feel free to use any other kind of soft cheese or crumble some lovely Britannia block cheese.

By the way, if you aren’t a fan of watermelon, give it a shot with muskmelon – it tastes just as good!

The Recipe
Serves Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 small watermelon
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup sliced almonds (or pistachio, pumpkin seeds, walnuts)
  • ½ cup crumbled feta (or any soft cheese or crumbled Britannia cheese)
  • 1 ½ cup fresh mint leaves
  • For the dressing:
  • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Salt & pepper

Instructions

  • Use a small scooper to carve out perfect small balls of watermelon (remember to de-seed!).
  • Add the rest of the salad ingredients and mix.
  • For the dressing:
  • Combine the dressing ingredients together in a separate bowl and pour into the salad before serving.

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