Watermelon Salad: What to Do When you Botch your Watermelon Pick at the Grocery Store…

We all know watermelon as the quintessential summer snack: cold, red, juicy, and sweet! But sometimes you cut open a watermelon and realize that you landed a less than exciting pink mass. This is exactly what happened to me this weekend, when I was preparing an outdoor socially distanced lunch for friends of ours whom we haven’t seen in months.

Luckily, watermelon is not only a great snack, it's also amazing as an appetizer or a side. So, I didn't despair. I immediately repurposed the sad pile of tasteless cubes into a salad. The compliments soon followed, along with a request for the recipe. So, I thought I'd share it. I used my “Watermelon Anything Salad” recipe, which is a generic formula for making your own watermelon salad combo, based on your personal preferences and on what you have available in your refrigerator. It’s quick, easy, and most importantly, it’s delicious!!!

Watermelon “Anything” Salad (serves at least 5)

Ingredients

1. 1 mini or ½ full size watermelon – cubed

2. 1 bag of greens – My personal preference is arugula. Not a fan? Try spinach or baby kale. Don’t like greens? Add 1 firm cucumber, and 2 yellow peppers instead. If you want a rich salad, you can add these in, in addition to the greens

3. 1 bunch of fresh herbs – My go-to is basil. It could also work with cilantro or parsley

4. ½ of red onion or 1 bunch of scallions. Don’t like onion? Don’t add it

5. ½ cup of crumbled cheese – Any kind works: feta, or goat cheese, or blue cheese. If you’re vegan, cashew-based cheese is also delicious

6. ¼ cup of nuts – chopped walnuts, or pine nuts, or roasted watermelon seeds. If you’re allergic, skip this one

7. Dressing – 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, salt to taste, black pepper to taste. If you don’t like vinegar, you can replace with lime juice

Preparation (15 minutes)

1. Slice off the ends of the watermelon with a sharp knife. Stand the watermelon up on one end and slice it through the middle in half, then cut each half of the watermelon into 2 sections lengthwise. Then remove the rind and retain fleshy part.

2. Cube the watermelon and place small pieces in a large salad bowl.

3. Add greens. If you’re also adding the cucumber and peppers, rinse them and then slice them into round slices or cut them into small cubes. For the peppers, make sure to remove all the seeds before cutting them.

4. Chop fresh herbs coarsely, use only the leafy parts and add to the salad bowl.

5. Peel the onion and slice it finely, lengthwise

6. Add dressing and toss salad gently.

7. Sprinkle cheese and nuts on top, and top once more.

8. ENJOY!

Would love to hear what other watermelon recipes you’ve tried that saved the day, so please share!