It Must Be Summer Watermelon Salad

I know I’ve posted this recipe before, but now I’ve taken such a pretty picture of the salad, I had to bring it up to the front of the queue. Plus, apparently now watermelon is so hip, even the folks at Design Within Reach are talking about it.

This is from Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer. People might look at it and, mistaking the pale pink watermelon for lame supermarket tomatoes, think it’s a bad Greek salad, so just assure them that it is something delicious and new. They’ll be so pleased.

1 small red onion
2-4 limes, depending on their juiciness
3 1/2 pounds watermelon
9 oz feta cheese
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
3-4 T olive oil
4 oz pitted black olives
black pepper to taste

Peel and halve the red onion and cut into very fine half moons. Put in a small bowl to steep with the lime juice. Two limes should do it, unless they seem dry; you be the judge.

Remove the rind and seeds from the watermelon and cut into large bite-sized, triangular chunks. Cut the feta into similar sized pieces and put them both in a large, shallow bowl. Tear off the sprigs of parsley so that it’s used like a salad leaf, rather than garnish, and add to the bowl along with the chopped mint.

Now add the onions (with the now oniony lime juice), olive oil, and olives, and toss gently so as not to break up the watermelon and feta too much. Add a nice grinding of black pepper and taste to see whether the dressing needs more lime. Keep at room temperature till serving.

3 Comments

  1. Ian says:

    I would love to find out where you get a salad bowl like the one used in your pic here. It fantastic ! Could you please let me know? Thanks. Ian in Australia

  2. Caroline says:

    Hi Ian, I’m sorry, the bowl was a wedding gift and I have no idea where it came from or who made it. It’s a piece of reinforced glass that’s been warmed and bent into shape, and it’s one of my favorites too.

  3. IAn says:

    Hi Carolyn – just read your reply. Thanks for replying 15 minutes after I posted the question! Excellent!

    I love Nigella’s Watermelon Salad, but surely 3.5 Lbs of watermelon and WHOLE bunches of mint and parsley would make enough to feed a whole boarding house! I used 1.5 Lbs and a good handful of each of mint and parsley and that FILLED a large salad bowl. It has become my favourite apetiser now, and am in fact taking two large salad bowls to an end of summer BBQ this weekend.