Tangy-Sweet Watermelon Salad With Crispy Cucumber

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This easy watermelon salad recipe is a perfect side dish for a weekend dinner or a BBQ. Juicy watermelon, crisp English cucumbers, sweet red onion, salty feta cheese, and smokey pine nuts. All these mouth-watering flavors are coated in a honey-lime vinaigrette dressing.

One of my favorite fruit is watermelon. Juicy and sweet it is a blessing from Summer. My local farmers market is just starting to get in watermelon from the southern states like Texas and Arkansas. I was so happy to see them that I decided to pick one for my favorite watermelon salad recipe.

Once you have your perfect watermelon, dress it up with this recipe for Sweet and tangy Watermelon Salad. This dish is a versatile salad that with its dressing will help boost the flavor of a perfect sweet melon or one that was picked a little too early.

Ingredients

Here's what you need to make this easy salad:

• watermelon

• English cucumber

• red onion

• feta cheese

• pine nuts

• black beans (optional)

• dressing: lime, honey, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper

Preparation

This is a quick and easy salad.

First, start by mixing the dressing ingredients. Whisk ingredients together until all are combined.

Lightly toast pine nuts. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add pine nuts and cook and stir frequently for about 5 minutes or until you see them start to lightly brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Next, chop your watermelon into one to one and ahalf inch pieces.

Peel the cucumber. An English cucumber has a thin, soft skin. I like to peel it so that there is some green left on the cucumber and then chop into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and then quarter.

Thinnly slice the onion.

Crumble feta cheese if needed. Drain beans if using.

Add watermelon, cucumber, onion, pine nuts, 1/2 the feta, and beans to a large bowl.

Drizzle dressing over watermelon mixture. Lightly toss to coat.

Cover and refrigerater for at least one hour. Sprinkle with remaining feta prior to serving.

Tips

Once you have your watermelon there are a few things to consider.

1. This salad tastes best cold after the flavors have had an hour or more to marinate.
2. The honey-lime vinaigrette will cause the juices to expand. So if you are taking this to a BBQ, remember a slotted spoon.
3. This salad is forgiving. You can include other vegetables, nuts, or seeds as you have available. So don't panic if you don't have every ingredient.
4. I use an English or European cucumber 1 in my salads. They are almost seedless, have tender skin, and a milder flavor.
5. You can use balsamic vinegar in place of the honey-lime white wine vinegar mixture if you don't happen to have limes.
6. I add black beans to the salad when trying to make sure I am eating legumes. For our table, a whole can of black beans is too much, but a 1/2 can is perfect. Once the beans are rinsed and drained, you can freeze them for up to 3 months for use in another recipe.

If you are looking for recipes for the Mediterranean Diet. This tasty watermelon salad works well. To learn more about this heart-healthy lifestyle, read my post, Mediterranean Diet Basics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Serve with Tangy-Sweet Watermelon Salad

This quick Summer salad is a perfect side dish for burgers, chicken, or steak.

You might like it with one of the following recipes:

Baked Chicken with Sweet & Smokey Spice Rub - a mixture of spices, a little brown sugar, lime juice, and olive is all you need for this moist and juicy simple chicken dish.

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August 2021 Update: Added Ingredient, Preparation, and Frequently Asked Questions to post and updated images.