Posted on August 19th, 2008 by Carolyn
It was last summer that one of my cooking magazines arrived with a cover photo of a watermelon and tomato salad. At the time my face must have squeezed up funny-like, thinking yuk, why would anyone combine the sweet of watermelon and the savory pucker of a tomato. Well, I stand corrected. Big time. It’s a match made in heaven, especially if you have ripe tomatoes. Flavorful full-of-summer tomatoes and ripe, sweet watermelon. And likely you’ve encountered this salad if you’ve eaten in any leading edge or avante-garde restaurants. Dave ordered it recently at one restaurant. I tasted it and agreed it was sensational.
A couple of months ago my friend Kathleen served us a watermelon and Feta salad, which I liked ever so much. It was simply dressed with Feta and mint. I’ve made it a couple of times this summer and enjoyed it hugely. So I guess you could say that I’ve discovered the culinary big deal about watermelon. I can’t eat a whole lot of watermelon – because of the high water content, it fills me up so, so fast. So I never serve it as a dessert because generally I’m too full for that much additional fluid in my already sated stomach. But as a side dish with a meal, it’s fine.
Therefore, when I purchased the September, 2008 issue of Saveur (a magazine to which I do not subscribe), with a photo of watermelon on the cover, I thought ah-ha, maybe there will be some other variations on the watermelon and tomato theme. Sure enough there were. The issue contained a few other watermelon concoctions: Watermelon, Feta and (Kalamata) Olive Salad, Russian Pickled Watermelon, a Watermelon Curry (believe it or not, an Indian hot dish served with rice) and a Watermelon Pudding (a Sicilian specialty). I’ve earmarked the pudding to try (very low calorie). And it did contain a salad of watermelon and tomato chunks, with red onion and a vinaigrette dressing. That intrigued me. I did alter the recipe some, so it’s more of a Carolyn recipe, but still this recipe was the inspiration.
The salad is incredibly easy. You shave up the red onion slices and marinate them in champagne vinegar and sugar (Splenda) with a little cayenne added. That wants to sit for about 30 minutes to lessen the bite of the onion. Meanwhile, you cut up the watermelon and tomatoes, the mint and Feta (not in the Saveur recipe, but I added it because I like the watermelon-Feta combination). Once you toss everything together, then you add a splash of basil oil (my substitution) or olive oil, along with some cracked black pepper. The original recipe called for salt, but I didn’t think it was necessary. The Saveur recipe also suggested basil (although I had some in my garden, I decided to use some infused homemade basil oil my friend Lucy gave me last summer). But if you’d prefer the olive oil, add fresh basil to the salad as well. I just used a whole lot more mint, because I like the combination of mint and watermelon.
The onions retain their crunch (a great texture in the salad since the watermelon and tomatoes are soft), but they lose their bite with the vinegar soak, and the vinaigrette just adds a great smoothness to the entire dish. I l-o-v-e-d this salad. The joy of it is that you could easily substitute your own twist – you don’t like mint? Add tarragon. Don’t like Feta? Eliminate it. Or add ricotta salata, which might be more appropriate anyway. Just maintain the tomatoes and the watermelon, and create from there. The salad is edible the next day, but it’s lost a lot of its zing, so ideally make just enough to eat at that first meal.
Watermelon & Tomato Salad
Recipe: Inspired by a recipe in Saveur, Sept. ‘08 issue
Servings: 8
6 cups watermelon — sliced, cut in 1-inch cubes
3 cups tomatoes — sliced in bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup Feta cheese — crumbled
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar — or white wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons sugar — or Splenda
2 pinches cayenne
1/4 whole red onion — thinly sliced
2 tablespoons basil oil — or extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh mint — minced
1. Combine in a small bowl the white wine vinegar and cayenne, then add the sliced red onions. Toss lightly so all the onions are combined with the vinegar. Allow to sit for 30 minutes (to soften the sharp onion taste).
2. Meanwhile, cut up all the watermelon and tomatoes. Combine in a large bowl.
3. Add the crumbled Feta cheese and the onions (with any vinegar that’s still remaining in the bowl. Sprinkle with the fresh mint, then drizzle on the basil oil (or olive oil) over the top. Toss well to combine. Serve within about 30 minutes, or refrigerate no longer than an hour.
Per Serving (even less if you substitute Splenda for the sugar): 110 Calories; 5g Fat (39.4% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4mg Cholesterol; 64mg Sodium.
