This salad is weird.
Like, really weird.
As in, if you ate this during a lunch meeting at work, your boss might stop right in the middle of his or her Powerpoint presentation, turn to you and say, “WHAT are you eating!?”
But your mouth would be too full of sweet, juicy watermelon and salty feta and olives to answer.
I hope you don’t let the weirdness of the combo stop you from trying this summer salad. Honestly, it isn’t that strange. People put fruit on salads all the time! And the melon and salty combo is a classic. Think: melon and prosciutto, yum! So why not stick some chunks of red awesomeness on your next salad? I dare ya!
Especially now, because it’s melon season, my friends! Southern Indiana doesn’t have a lot of claims to fame but we do have an ideal climate for melon-growing. That means the watermelons, honeydews and cantaloupes from our area are absolutely top-notch. They are juicy, flavorful, colorful and melt-in-your-mouth. People drive for hours to buy Indiana melons! I know the vast majority of you aren’t blessed with Indiana melons at your disposal, but I bet you can find some pretty decent ones at your local farmer’s market or produce stand. While you’re at it, grab a fresh-from-the-field cucumber, you’ll need it, too.
As far as dressing up this salad, I used my Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette, which I thought was a prefect tart and creamy pairing with the sweet and salty salad combo. The only change I made to that recipe was to reduce the amount of vinegar by a touch—I didn’t want the dressing overpowering the rest of the salad. If you aren’t feeling that recipe (a few folks thought it was a bit too tangy for their tastes) you can leave this salad naked. The feta and watermelon juices do a good job of coating the bed of greens.
Watermelon Feta Salad
This watermelon feta salad is a surprising and delicious combination.
Ingredients
- 3 cups lettuce mix
- 3 cups bite-sized watermelon chunks
- 1/2 cup halved Kalamata olives
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1 medium cucumber, sliced
- Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette, for serving
Instructions
- Divide lettuce mix evenly between two bowls.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine watermelon, feta, olives and cucumbers. Toss until well-mixed.
- Divide watermelon mixture between the two beds of lettuce.
- Serve with vinaigrette.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 474Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 755mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 10gSugar: 20gProtein: 13g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
This just makes me think of my Granddad. I always thought he was so strange to put salt on watermelon but one day I tried it and it just made the sweet that much sweeter. I bet I get my sweet tooth from him <3
This salad looks delish and so I think I'll try it! I tried the salad-in-a-jar idea from pinterest today and it worked like a charm. Have you tried that one yet?
I haven’t, but I’ve been thinking about trying it! Did everything really stay not soggy?
My Dad puts salt and pepper on his cantaloupe!
My dad is growing watermelons. Hopefully, some will be ready the next time I visit! I have tons of weird food combos, but the first one that popped in my head was fish and blueberry muffins. I guess we were out of Jiffy cornbread mix one night when I was little, and my mom served Jiffy blueberry muffins instead. From that point forward, we always had fish and blueberry muffins. I was an adult before I realized that not everyone’s family ate that combo.
Yum! Homegrown watermelons are the best! 🙂
And I LOVE Jiffy blueberry muffins. YUM.
This looks super delicious!! I had a somewhat similar salad a few weeks back at a friend’s house. It was a watermelon, goat cheese and basil salad. It too was weird but in the best way possible!
YUM! That sounds amazing! I might have to try that one next time.