It is summer and that means it’s time for Melons (yes we are still stuck on Fruits)! And this is my take on the famous Watermelon Salad. Pickled onions along with the obvious feta cheese and a generous sprinkling of toasted sunflower seeds for crunch make this version perfect. This Watermelon salad is just right for a light summer lunch or as an addition to your larger brunch plan or even along with a beer on Friday !
I love Watermelon Salad, with rocket and feta or just the age old fruit chaat kinds with lots of chaat masala and lemon. Or my favourite Watermelon and Prawn Salad.
Growing up watermelon for me used to be a standard summer item. Once a week or so we would cut a huge watermelon and eat it for breakfast. Usually followed by a couple of biscuits or a toast of bread since mom strongly believed in not drinking any water for about 30 minutes to an hour after we ate watermelon. And we as kids would always forget it, so she would force us to eat something even when we would be so full. The watermelon those days used to be desi variety, each one of them weighing atleast 5 kgs and for a family of 5 it meant a kg per person.
I always thought there could be no better way of eating watermelon than I knew and then years later I ate the watermelon salad with feta cheese and it blew my mind like nothing else. The salty feta cheese with sweet watermelon with a drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar, it was like there was an explosion of flavours in my mouth.
Overtime, I tried many versions of it. With loads of rocket thrown in for that slight bitterness, the one with lots of mint. Sometimes adding a handful of olives to the salad. And then one day I threw in some left over lacha onions that I had in the watermelon salad and the result was fantastic. The sharpness of the onions worked so beautifully that I was surprised why have I never eaten this version before.
So here is the recipe folks. Make it and I promise you folks will love it! It will shine on your party table and if you make it, don’t forget to share a picture with me?
Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions & Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 cups watermelon deseeded and chopped
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds lightly toasted
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
For the pickled Onions
- 2 medium onions peeled and sliced in rings
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp mint leaves
- 1 tsp Paprika powder
- Salt to taste
For the dressing
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix slice onions with oil, vinegar, mint leaves and spices gently. Cover and refrigerator for about 2-4 hours.
- Once the onions have sat enough, mix all the ingredients of the salad together and pout over the dressing.
- Serve immediately
I’m Indian, and when I read about your mother not letting you have water after watermelon it made me smiled since my mother did too, and probably so did every other Indian mom.
Also pickled onions + watermelon + feta cheese sound such a seamless combination, can’t wait to try !!
🙂