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Recipe: Watermelon and Feta Summer Salad

June 7, 2010 by Carrie Anne 15 Comments

Anthony really loves watermelon but often times we pass it up when we’re at the store unless we know we have a crowd coming over. That’s when I decided that watermelon is like a Thanksgiving turkey: good the first couple times, but you’d better have a good leftovers recipe on hand or it’s just going to sit in the fridge forever.

I have always wanted to try Nigella’s Watermelon, Feta, and Black olive salad so this time when we passed by the watermelon at the store I added it to the cart without hesitation. When I told Anthony I had a recipe for watermelon he sort of looked at me like I was crazy, but I’m used to ignoring that look by now.

I couldn’t wait to dive in but when I first sliced the melon open I admit I was disappointed. This was not the deep red flesh I was expecting. It’s only the beginning of June and this watermelon was paler and more watery than I had expected. This recipe, however, made up for that.

Another setback occurred: I had vastly underestimated the amount of feta I had in the fridge. And I had no fresh mint on hand. Drat.

But you know what? I made it with what I did have and added scant amounts of feta and it was sublime. I can only imagine how good this would have been if conditions had been ideal. This recipe comes from Nigella’s book Forever Summer, which I bought one year right before I took a trip to Half Moon Bay. Now whenever I cook from it I vividly remember standing at my aunt’s stove and slicing mangoes.

Ingredients:

  • One small red onion
  • 2-4 limes, depending on juiciness
  • 3 1/2 lbs watermelon
  • 9 oz feta cheese
  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
  • 1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
  • 3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 oz pitted black olives
  • black pepper

  1. Peel and halve the red onion and slice thinly. Immediately put into a bowl with the juice of the limes. What will happen is as they soak they will tenderize, become slightly translucent, and become much less raw and sharp.
  2. Nigella suggests 2-4 limes because some limes don’t have a lot of juice to them. I’ve heard that rolling them on the counter or zapping very briefly in the microwave helps release their juices.
  3. Slice the watermelon into chunks, discarding any seeds and rind.
  4. My feta comes crumbled, but if yours doesn’t, crumble it now.
  5. Add feta and watermelon to a shallow bowl or plate and tear off chunks of parsley then add the chopped mint.
  6. Add the onions plus all the lime juice. Then add the olives.
  7. Toss with your hands very, very gently and grind black pepper over all.

I did not follow the recipe amounts to the letter and just added amounts that looked appetizing to me. The lime and oil more than made up for the mediocre melon and the combination of the sharp feta, sweet melon and rich olives was wonderful.

Anthony ate chunks of melon as I made this and looked upon the recipe with a small amount of skepticism. I offered him a plate and he devoured it in about six seconds. I’m going to keep this salad coming all through summer and can’t wait to bring it to a barbecue.

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Filed Under: Little Big Kitchen, OMFN Tagged With: Feta, Food, Forever Summer, Nigella, Nigella Lawson, Olive, Recipe, Salad, Summer, Watermelon

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Comments

  1. Elizabeth says

    June 7, 2010 at 8:45 am

    This looks delicious. If only Shane liked olives!

    Reply
    • LittleBig says

      June 7, 2010 at 8:50 am

      Make it without olives and just add them to your portion. It will still be delicious.

      Reply
  2. honestiam says

    June 7, 2010 at 8:46 am

    this looks awesome! thanks for sharing. will be adding this to my ‘recipe to-to make’ list.

    Reply
    • LittleBig says

      June 7, 2010 at 8:50 am

      I’d love to hear what you think of it!

      Reply
  3. youngwifey says

    June 7, 2010 at 8:47 am

    Wow, delicious!

    Reply
    • LittleBig says

      June 7, 2010 at 8:51 am

      I can’t wait to try this with ripe melon.

      Reply
  4. asiajane says

    June 7, 2010 at 9:01 am

    That looks pretty good, said the woman who can eat an entire watermelon the size of her own head, in one sitting…

    Reply
    • LittleBig says

      June 8, 2010 at 9:12 am

      If you can resist the urge to eat it all straight away then you will love this.

      Reply
  5. Alicia says

    June 7, 2010 at 10:56 am

    I have a recipe for another watermelon salad that you and Anthony might enjoy. I’ll find and post it soon.

    Reply
  6. Alicia says

    June 7, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Ok…as promised. Here is the link to the Ginger-Lime Watermelon Salad my cousin has posted on her blog.

    http://designnomad.blogspot.com/2008/03/happiness-in-bowl.html

    It is sooo delicious and refreshing on a warm summer day!

    Reply
    • LittleBig says

      June 8, 2010 at 9:12 am

      Bookmarked! Watermelon and lime are BFFs.

      Reply
  7. purplequark says

    June 7, 2010 at 10:24 pm

    Your pictures are just oh so gorgeous…

    Reply
    • LittleBig says

      June 8, 2010 at 9:12 am

      Aw, thanks Joes!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Fall Recipe Ideas :: Salad Recipes says:
    October 23, 2011 at 10:30 am

    […] salad Image by ex.libris Recipe posted here: thelittlebig.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/recipe-watermelon-a… […]

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  2. Cool Summer Salad Recipes pictures :: Salad Recipes says:
    November 16, 2011 at 5:32 am

    […] Season Melon Image by ex.libris Recipe posted here: thelittlebig.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/recipe-watermelon-a… Article By: Categories : Summer Salad […]

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