Full disclosure: I've overseen my sous-chef throughout the making of this salad (thanks Josh) but have never made it myself. Our first time preparing the dish was triggered by cravings for something light and fresh and simple. I vaguely remembered eating a salty/minty/melony salad in New York last year -- that was all the inspiration it took to throw together what I sincerely believe is THE EASIEST SUMMER SALAD EVER.
You'll need feta, olive oil, mint, and a really ripe watermelon. The ingredients can be chopped, crumbled, and torn to whatever size you like. Personally, I prefer everything broken into really small pieces because it gives the most balanced forkful. Portion out the ingredients to your personal taste -- more or less of anything is fine, I don't think there's a wrong answer here. Toss it all together in a big bowl. You're done!
My only serious call-out? Go easy with the oil. Depending on the juiciness of your fruit, too much EVOO will push things into soup territory. You really just need enough to lightly coat.
Lastly, and ideally, serve the salad chilled for peak refreshment.
I was quietly concerned it would taste too sweet, or too much like a dessert, but the saltiness from the feta gives the dish an awesome tang. You'll go through bowls of this stuff, I promise. (But it will also keep in the fridge for at least another day.)
Poke around online to find loads of variations on this dish. I've seen people add blueberries, arugula, slivered almonds, balsamic reduction, cucumbers, red onions... The options are pretty endless. Let me know what you come up with :)
Better yet, if you have other failsafe summery salad ideas, feel free to share!
Image credit: The Daring Gourmet
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