Watermelon Feta Salad – A Couple Cooks

Watermelon feta salad is the final word contemporary summer season deal with! Candy melon with salty cheese is laid again and ideal for the season.

Right here’s the very best recipe for when watermelon is in season, palms down: Watermelon Feta Salad! This traditional mixture of candy juice melon and salty cheese is one in all summer season’s nice pleasures. This summer season salad has grown to large recognition in recent times, and for good purpose: it’s quick and simple to make, and has a lazy, laid-back vibe that screams flip flops, pool events, and picnics.

What’s watermelon feta salad?

Watermelon feta salad combines contemporary cubed watermelon with feta cheese, and is commonly topped with olive oil or a fast French dressing. The origin of this salad could also be Egyptian in origin, and it’s consumed within the Center East and Mediterranean areas.

Why it really works? It’s a refreshing dish for warm climate, and highlights the pairing of candy fruit with salty cheese, an age outdated custom in these cuisines. So whereas you may even see it throughout Pinterest: no, it was not invented by social media influencers!

Elements for watermelon feta salad

This watermelon feta salad recipe was the very first recipe we ever wrote for this web site, again in August 2010. A lot has modified since then, after all. However this salad recipe has grown massively in recognition! You’ll usually see any such recipe at summer season potlucks and cookouts. Some recipes use a fast French dressing to decorate the watermelon, however we like a easy drizzle of olive oil. Listed here are the watermelon feta salad elements:

• Ripe watermelon
• Feta cheese
• Contemporary herbs: basil or mint
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

One of the best a part of this idea is you barely have to measure. Dice the watermelon, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with herbs. It’s that simple! We want the contemporary chunk of a watermelon feta mint salad, but it surely’s almost as scrumptious with contemporary basil.

The way to discover a ripe melon (vital!)

As a result of this watermelon feta salad is so easy, it’s vital that you simply purchase the very best quality elements. An unripe watermelon tastes bitter and flat: by no means what you want for this salad! Right here’s how you can choose a fantastic ripe fruit:

• Store in watermelon season. It’s the one positive means we’ve discovered to get a fantastic fruit.
• Search for the sector spot. Most watermelons ought to have a patch on the underside, which is the place they have been resting on the bottom earlier than being picked. If the patch is yellow, the watermelon is ripe (if it’s white, it’s unripe).
• Search for a watermelon that feels heavy for its measurement. Which means there’s plenty of juice inside! Actually this one is tough to evaluate within the grocery, however hold it in thoughts while you’re procuring.

Shopping for the very best feta cheese

Equally as vital is the feta cheese you buy. Skip the pre-crumbled stuff, and go for a block of full-fat feta cheese. This sort of feta has the very best taste, and it’s most just like the feta served in Greece.

You additionally need to keep away from feta that’s comprised of cow’s milk, as that’s not true feta. It crumbles extra simply, which isn’t what you need. Feta from Greece has unbelievable taste if you’ll find it! We’ve been capable of find Greek feta at our native grocery retailer.

Storage and make forward directions

This watermelon feta salad is finest freshly made, so now we have just a few suggestions for making it forward:

• Lower the watermelon and retailer it individually. Lower watermelon releases a number of liquid. So one of the best ways to make this salad upfront is to chop the watermelon into cubes and retailer it individually. Then make up the salad proper earlier than serving.
• Leftovers retailer as much as 2 days. Nevertheless, this salad is sub-optimal as leftovers as a result of it releases a lot juice. It does work, but it surely’s higher for laid again lunches than impressing dinner company.

Variations on watermelon feta salad

There are many variations on watermelon feta salad, swapping in numerous cheeses, herbs, and dressings. Listed here are just a few choices:

• Mint and lime: This Watermelon Mint Salad is a favourite variation! Add lime juice and mint, and skip the feta completely.
• Cucumber: Add cucumber for Watermelon Cucumber Salad. The cooling veggie pairs nicely with melon.
• Onion: Add crimson onion slivers or minced shallot for a touch of savory spice
• Child arugula: Add child arugula for a fluffy texture

Extra watermelon recipes

Watermelon feta salad is one in all our prime concepts for utilizing this summery melon! However there are lots of extra nice methods to make use of this summer season fruit. Listed here are some prime watermelon recipes to attempt subsequent: