Recipe: watermelon feta salad
I don’t have my typical amount of travel lined up this summer because I wanted to be home to provide Kaweah with a stable, happy routine. In the spring, a few medical issues cropped up for her and our travel schedule seemed to exacerbate her condition. Now that I’ve been home for a bit, she’s doing well – really well. She’s super waggy and playful and pretty much back to her old self (read that as herself, but old). Another upside to sticking around is that I’m able to get outside into the Colorado that I love on a regular basis.
The past several days have been brutally hot – hitting triple digits down in Denver and on the surrounding flats. Up here in the mountains, we popped over 80°F, which is borderline unbearable for me. Luckily… gleefully… we were granted a welcome cooldown on the first day of summer. It just so happened that Erin and I had planned a hike for that morning. It was deliciously cool at the alpine lake and we were both so very very happy.
a very happy erin
pausing on the bridge and still happy
We popped by Tin Shed Sports in Nederland for lunch. It’s the new game in town: a pro bike/ski shop run jointly with Salto Coffee Works where you can grab a bite, brew, glass of wine and hang out on the patio with a glorious view of the mountains.
the roadie: brie, prosciutto, greens, onions, pickles
Kaweah didn’t go hiking with us because she’s no longer strong enough to power up the trails anymore. But she gets her evening walkies in, and this time she met a new little puppy friend who is in training to become a guide dog. She loves puppies, especially when they are behind a fence and can’t jump on her head and chew her ears with their sharp puppy teeth.
meet huck – who was constantly in motion and cute as a button
I’m glad I took advantage of the cooler weather, because the mercury is on its way up again. We have quite a bit of entertaining lined up at the House of Butter. With warmer temperatures, I’m planning a lot of salads. So when I was flipping through a new cookbook that my friend, Alice, of Savory Sweet Life authored, I considered several of her beautiful, quick and easy recipes.
alice’s new cookbook
I did a double take on one salad in particular. That salad is a perfect representation of her blog name too – because it is both savory AND sweet. And it’s phenomenal. Watermelon, feta cheese, onions, mint, lime juice, and olive oil. I love me some watermelon in summer. On those blistering hot days of summer, it’s all I want to eat. Now, before you think, “What a strange combination!” I urge you to try it first. I made a half recipe and proceeded to eat it all.
simple ingredients
cube the watermelon
slice the onions
i like my onions sliced super thin
Additional bonus points: it takes mere minutes to prep the ingredients. Let’s see: cube the watermelon, chop some mint, slice onions, crumble feta, squeeze limes, grab some olive oil. Then it is even less time to assemble because you put everything in a big bowl and toss it together.
add feta to the watermelon and onions
don’t forget some minty mint
give it a little mix
dress with lime juice and olive oil and toss gently
And there you have a watermelon feta salad that is all sorts of wonderful. The overall texture is dominated by the sweet watermelon, but you get nice crunchy slivers of onion mixed in with the creamy nibbles of salty feta. Just a (good) bit of advice from Alice: if you want to prepare the salad ahead of time, prep the ingredients early, but mix them just before serving or else the feta dissolves and that’s no fun. But really, don’t knock it before you try it because this salad is simply wonderful for summer and I am so very happy to have found it. Thanks, Alice!!
this little serving surely isn’t enough
but it’s a good start!
Full Disclosure: I received a free review copy of Savory Sweet Life from the publisher with no obligation on my part. The opinions expressed here are most definitely my own.
Watermelon Feta Salad
[print recipe]
from Savory Sweet Life by Alice Currah
6 cups watermelon, cubed
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Place the watermelon, feta, red onion, and mint in a large bowl. Pour the lime juice and olive oil over the ingredients and gently toss to mix. Serve immediately. If not serving immediately, you can toss everything but the feta cheese together, then sprinkle the feta over the top before serving. Serves 6-8 people (good luck with that – more likely it serves 3-4, it’s THAT good).
June 20th, 2012: 11:15 pm
filed under appetizers, cheese, fruit, gluten-free, recipes, savory, sweet, vegetables
