Boring salads are the absolute worst. You know the type: the ones where leaves take centre stage. Yawn.
Good salads however… good salads we can talk about. They’re full of different textures and colours. They let vegetables, fruits, nuts, cheeses take centre stage. Good, hearty salads should make their way happily onto your plate without feeling like a five-a-day chore or repentance for a weekend blowout.
This right here, is a good salad. Super fresh, sweet and tangy. Perfect for Summer sides and especially BBQs!
Watermelon and Feta Salad
- Serves 4 as a side, or 2 as a main
- Half a bag of mixed salad leaves (don’t worry they’re a background character)
- Third of a cucumber, de-seeded and cut into quarter chunks
- 300g watermelon, cut into inch chunks
- 50g feta
- handful of walnuts (halfs)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- Half a lemon
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- Pepper
The main work here is creating those glorious glazed walnuts, which will be little nuggets of absolute joy in your salad, I promise. Add your walnuts to a dry pan on medium heat and let them toast a little. Keep stirring to prevent burning, with the high fat content they can catch quickly. Once they start smelling nice and nutty, add your butter and coat the walnuts. Next add in 1 tbsp honey and toss for 2 minutes. They’ll look rich and shiny and delicious!
Leave your walnuts to cool. Next assemble your leaves (the filler), cucumber and watermelon. Crumble the feta over with your hands; feta looks much prettier and rustic when crumbled rather than cut into chunks. Sprinkle over your warm, glazed walnuts.
Finally you need to create your dressing. In a jug or bowl add the juice of half a lemon, 1 tsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp olive oil and lots of pepper. Stir it up, drizzle all over your salad and serve.
For summer BBQs this salad is perfect with chicken that’s been marinading in Greek herbs. The earthy, robust flavours pair great with this sweet and tangy salad. Watermelon is sublime in salads let me tell you! It really prevents palate fatigue, keeping your dish light and refreshing. Perfect for evening meals on hot days.
By contrast, the glazed walnuts offer an exciting change of texture, and nuggets of wonderful, natural sweetness. And the feta – the feta makes everything sing! When I made this salad I wasn’t ready for how tasty it was going to be, I ended up devouring nearly the entire thing in one sitting for my lunch..!
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I hope that you love this recipe, if you give it a try I would love to see! You can tag me at @jogirleatsworld or use my hashtag #cookiteatitliveit.
