Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Watermelon Salad with Tomato and Feta Recipe

Watermelon, Tomato & Feta Salad 4-6-11 I know it might be hard for some who read my blog to believe me, but I LOVE fruits, vegetables and salads.  Even when I was growing up and we always got to pick what we wanted for dinner, I’d always pick salad bar where my mom would just put out everything you can imagine for salads and we’d pile up on all the good stuff.  One of my favorite things on top of all the lettuce was cottage cheese, pineapple and ranch dressing.

I have really branched out over the years and this salad I had today was fantastic, just as good as I remember it when I first had it a couple years ago in one of the cooking classes I was taking in Kansas.  Most of the classes I took from my favorite chef, Paige (A Cooking Life Blog), were in a setting where the class watched her prepare and talk about each recipe (and then got to eat each of the delicious things she prepared!).  This particular one was a three coarse dinner.  My parents were in town and Kevin and I took my parents to the class.  Paige teamed up for the class with another great chef, Nancy Stark.  Nancy prepared this salad and while doing so and talking about watermelon with the tomatoes and feta with lime and mint and jalapeno, all four of us thought it sounded rather strange and we were skeptical about it being good.  Then we were served the salad and we all thought it tasted great!  I have thought about it many times since then and have wanted to make it, but never did until finally now.

The salad was super easy to prepare.  Sam talked me in to buying a watermelon at the grocery store.  I was skeptical about it being good since they aren’t really in season yet, but the mini seedless one I bought that came from Mexico is/was very good.  I’m so glad I made this salad.  I made a few minor adaptations, but it still tasted the same as I remembered it.  I know my photos isn’t the greatest, I hadn’t decided to blog about it until I took a bite or two and remembered how nice the watermelon went with the lime, mint and feta cheese.  You’ll want to make this salad soon!  I just made one quick serving of it and didn’t really measure things.  But here’s the recipe from class with my changes and the original ingredients as well.  You’ll never guess one of the things I left out-----onion.  Surprise. ;)

Watermelon Salad with Tomato and Feta, adapted by Katrina from Paige and Nancy

3 cups mixed baby greens (in the class, arugula was used)

1 cup loosely packed flat-leave parsley leaves (I chopped them)

1 cup loosely packed mint leaves (I chopped them)

2 pounds seedless watermelon, rind removed, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and julienned (I omitted this, but would have added it if I’d have had one)

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed in cold water (I totally omitted this. ;)

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 limes

coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the greens, parsley and mint and divide between 4 serving plates.

Put the watermelon and tomatoes into a large bowl.

Add jalapeno (and onion, if using) and toss gently.  Spoon this mixture, along with the juices, over the greens.  Sprinkle each salad with feta and drizzle with olive oil.  Squeeze half a lime over each salad, season generously with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

DSCF4520  

Really, you’ve got to try this.  I love all the combination of flavors together. 

14 comments:

Nutmeg Nanny said...

This looks great! I have been looking for filling and delicious salad ideas. Yum!

Shelby said...

This looks and sounds yummy! I'm also jealous you got your hubby to go to a cooking class! lol.

Lana @ Never Enough Thyme said...

Wow! This looks delicious. Can't wait to try it myself.

Lisa said...

I can just imagine how good that salad was with all that juicy watermelon in every bite.

Maria said...

Love this salad!

alice said...

This looks great. The dressing sounds especially lively. I love using watermelon in salads, people always expect it to be a bit wierd but it works ever so well.

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

I think this ones for me for sure love it!

Lisa Ernst said...

As much as I love chocolate and baking, I also love fruits and veggies and eat healthily most of the time. :-) This is a unique recipe, a must try for me. Just yesterday I was thinking about a Popsicle that combines watermelon and cucumber, so this watermelon recipe is timely.

Anonymous said...

I love salads and SPring is the best time to enjoy them and the nice weather. Love the idea of watermelon and tomatoes together, I will need to try!

Kristen said...

I have seen recipes like this and wondered how the salad was. It's nice to see a blogger make it and rave about it.

Val said...

We eat watermelon salad all the time in our house. I love the addition of tomato. YUM

Unknown said...

I'm sure this combination of flavors is delicious. A little bit sweet and a little bit salty. Looks like a real winner too. Very pretty to serve. Thanks Katrina!

Megan said...

I've had something very familiar before and I love the flavors. I cant wait for fresh watermelon!

Cooking Rookie said...

wonderful salad - so perfect for spring!