FETA AND WATERMELON SALAD

Unusual as this salad sounds, it really works because of the pairing of salty feta with sweet watermelon. In Greece, where it originates, they’ll often throw in some black olives too but I like the crunch you get from the toasted pecans. Don’t make this salad ahead or the salty cheese and nuts will draw the moisture out of the watermelon, making them all soggy.

This Watermelon Salad with Cucumber and Feta is an easy and refreshing salad to make this summer! Salty, sweet and perfect alongside your favorite grilled protein

This salad is salty, sweet, zippy and herbaceous in flavor and I couldn’t be more in love. If you’ve never tried watermelon and feta together I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of salty sweet food combinations. Making this salad couldn’t be easier. The most time consuming part is cutting the watermelon.

INGREDIENTS

50 g whole pecan nuts

1 ripe watermelon flesh cut into chunks, any seeds and white parts discarded

1 cucumber peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks

200 g best-quality feta cheese

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

leaves Small bunch of mint only, roughly chopped

1 tsp ground sumac (is a spice with a tangy flavor, produced from deep red berries, which are dried and ground into coarse powder) because I couldn’t find it this time, I substituted with pomegranate molasses to drizzle on top.

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Break up the pecans and lightly toast in a dry frying pan with a pinch of salt until golden. Remove and lightly crush in a pestle and mortar. Leave to cool.

Place the watermelon in a serving bowl and mix in the cucumber. Crumble in the feta and mix well, seasoning with a little salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Add the mint leaves, pecans, sumac and lemon juice to taste. Toss lightly and serve.