The name of this recipe does not adequately capture its brilliance. Check it out! If I do say so myself, this recipe for watermelon salad is spectacular.
A base of chilled, creamy, herbed yogurt sauce forms the basis of this salad. Then, we add cubes of ripe watermelon, crisp cucumber, mildly pickled shallot, and additional fresh basil and mint to the top.
Each component is quite easy to prepare, and the outcome is stunning.
Please prepare this salad while you still can because watermelon is in season and is the ideal shade of red and juicy. To bring to your weekend gathering, it would be the ideal salad.
It is preferable to eat this salad soon after assembling it. Your friends will no doubt be up for the task, I bet! How about that watermelon?
Salad with watermelon ingredients
Watermelon
It must be a good, ripe watermelon. Again, bad watermelon results in bad watermelon salad. For this dish, you’ll need about half of a small watermelon. Below are some suggestions for what to do with the leftovers.
Grecian yogurt
This salad’s thick base of creamy Greek yogurt is ideal. We’ll mix in some herbs, honey, and a tiny bit of olive oil. Easy! If you don’t have a food processor, simply finely chop the herbs and combine the ingredients.
fresh basil with mint
Although you could substitute one for the other, mint and basil together are wonderfully cooling. These fresh herbs will be mixed into the yogurt, and a few additional herbs will be used to decorate the salad.
Cucumber The salad benefits from the crispness of the cucumber. Mini (Persian) cucumbers are my favorite since they are the ideal biting size. You might also use a tiny cucumber; if the middle of the cucumber is particularly seedy, cut it in half and remove the seeds before slicing.
Shallot Watermelon has a sweet flavor, and the savoury shallots assist to balance it. We’re going to mildly pickle and chill them to soften their astringent flavor and texture. Simply combine the salt, vinegar (sherry or red wine), and shallot slices in a basin and refrigerate for 10 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
Making Watermelon Salad
The issue with most watermelon salads is that as soon as you begin salting luscious watermelon, it begins to degrade. With the idea of the layered salad, I got around that problem. Do not toss! Here’s how it happens:
Slice your cucumber, shallot, and watermelon.
Simply chop the cucumber and shallot into thin slices and cube the watermelon flesh. For examples, see the photographs.
Pickle the shallots very lightly.
Sliced shallots are mixed with salt and vinegar before being chilled in the fridge while the other ingredients are being made.
The herb sauce is blended.
In a food processor, mix yogurt, fresh herbs, olive oil, honey, and a little salt. Blend until the mixture is smooth and light green.
Put the salad together.
This must be done on a sizable serving platter so that we have enough of room to spread the yogurt out. Yogurt should be swirled all over the base before the watermelon, cucumber, shallots, vinegar, and a sprinkle of fresh herbs, salt, and pepper are added. Enjoy!
Also read: Honey Mustard Brussels Sprout Slaw
INGREDIENTS
Salad with watermelon
- 3 pounds of ripe seedless watermelon, diced into 3/4-inch cubes (approximately 12 small round watermelon or 4 cups).
- 1 tiny cucumber, carefully sliced into rounds, or 2 miniature cucumbers
- 12 cup of shallots, finely sliced (1 medium-to-large shallot)
- 3 teaspoons of red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 14 teaspoon of sea salt, fine
- Olive oil, extra virgin, two tablespoons
- Fresh mint and basil leaves, torn if large, in a small handful for garnish.
- To taste, kosher salt or flaky sea salt
- black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- yogurt with herbs sauce
- Greek yogurt, one cup
- One-third cup of lightly packed fresh basil and mint leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or honey
- pinch of sea salt, fine
INSTRUCTIONS
- Sliced shallot, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt are combined in a small bowl. Mix well, then while assembling the remainder of the salad, place in the fridge to slightly pickle.
- Creating the yogurt sauce: Combine the yogurt, fresh herbs, olive oil, honey, and a dash of salt in a food processor. Blend the sauce until it turns a light green and the herbs are finely chopped. The ingredients should be combined in a bowl once the herbs have been finely chopped (if you don’t have a food processor).
- Over the bottom of a sizable serving tray, swirl the yogurt sauce (all of it). Sprinkle the cubed watermelon and cucumber on top. Place the pickled shallot on top and drizzle the salad with the remaining vinegar.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a liberal amount of fresh herbs, and salt & pepper to taste to the top. If you won’t be serving the salad right away, put it in the fridge to keep it cold. It’s preferable to serve this salad within an hour or two.
NOTES
MAKE IT VEGAN/DAIRY FREE: Greek yogurt can be replaced with your preferred thick, dairy-free plain (unsweetened) yogurt. As long as you aren’t allergic to nuts, cashew-based sour cream might also work. Replace the honey in the salad with maple syrup to make it vegan.