Watermelon Heat
This recipe came about in an interesting way. A friend was telling me about a watermelon salad she wanted to make. My son had left a watermelon floating in our pool – a weird but not unusual summer occurrence – and I had friends coming to dinner. I saw that watermelon and thought since there was only a vague plan for dinner, why not fish it out and put it to good use?
Since we have bees – we have honey and incorporating honey recipes is just about the best thing in the world.
Because it’s summer and even in this horrible heat and drought, the garden has managed to grow a few passable things – herbs seem to be okay, and peppers were never happier. Are you following this plan – a jalapeno honey dressing for a watermelon salad chock full of fresh herbs? It was as easy as a trip out of the back door. The dressing was simple – the “House Dressing” with chopped jalapeno for a kick. The House Dressing is just olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey – maybe a pinch of salt. The jalapeno pepper added the perfect snappy touch to cold bites of watermelon. For herbs I went with mint, basil, parsley, and tarragon. To add that special touch – chopped roasted almonds and a crumble of feta made a gorgeous presentation.
Forget the fancy marinated salmon – this salad was the hit of the evening. Maybe it was the outside temperature, maybe it was the bite of jalapeno with sweet watermelon, or maybe it was just a fun salad to make and serve. Maybe it was all the above, but I think you just might want to add your variation of this salad to your summer round of recipes. Have a happy 4th! Stay cool and Enjoy!
Ingredients
Cubed watermelon (I used ½ of a small seedless)
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup salted roasted almonds, chopped
Fresh herbs of choice – use what is available (mint, parsley, basil, tarragon)
Dressing
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh jalapeno pepper
½ tsp salt
Shake dressing ingredients together in a jar. Assemble salad ingredients with watermelon on the bottom of a bowl. Add dressing and toss.
