Jul 5, 2011

Watermelon, Feta, and Olive Salad

In this summer salad, watermelon is a sweet counterpoint to the briny pungency of feta and olives.

Photo: André Baranowski

3 cups loosely packed arugula
1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup loosely packed torn mint leaves
1  2-lb. piece seedless watermelon,
   rind removed, cut into 1" cubes
20 kalamata olives, smashed, pitted, and halved
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and julienned
1⁄4 small red onion, thinly sliced and
   soaked in ice water for 30 minutes
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about 1⁄4 cup)
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 limes, halved
Coarse sea salt and freshly
   ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, parsley, and mint. Divide greens between 4 serving bowls or plates.

2. In a medium bowl, toss together watermelon, olives, jalapeño, and onion. Spoon the watermelon mixture, with its juice, evenly over the greens. Sprinkle each salad with some of the feta and drizzle with olive oil. Squeeze 1 lime half over the top of each salad and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

SERVES 4

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #113

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Ratings & Reviews (4)

by ekwilliams on 2008-08-17

my brother in law served this salad with grilled salmon. i was skeptical. it was fabulous.

by deo52 on 2009-08-08

This was fabulous - the sweet watermelon with the salty feta cheese and kalamata olives - the bite from the red onion and jalapeno - this is a winner! . . . . and it looks so appealing . . . I took a picture of my creation and added it to my personal recipe book. Great summer salad!

by POMGRANNIE on 2011-03-07

Outstanding!!! I subbed 1/2 green olives for 1/2 of the kalamata -- I really loved the extra sour/salty kick and color they added to the dish. Loved just the watermelon, red onion, jalapeno and crushed olives alone -- when I make this for summer picnics I will probably forgo the extra greens to keep it simple.

by AZCook on 2011-08-11

Goodish basic tweakable recipe. Couple of points: - no no no to the jalapeno - it's a classic Greek salad & I feel that chile doesn't realy belong in there with all those other flavours. No to the lemon, too - a small splash of good red wine vinegar works better, and also a splish of EV olive oil is missing from the recipe,IMO.

Am guessing that 1/4 cup = 4 oz feta is a typo :) 1 to 1 1/4 cup is more like it.

Watermelon, Feta, and Olive Salad 4 5 2 4