(RED) Watermelon Salad
EAT (RED) DRINK (RED) SAVE LIVES is a month-long, worldwide campaign uniting the culinary world to turn up the heat on the AIDS fight and raise a lot of dough to #86AIDS. This inspired us to throw a (RED) party complete with super simple and delicious red themed recipes using ingredients sourced from FreshDirect (one of the participating organizations).
Last time we brought you strawberry sangria – which we suggest making first so that you have something to sip on while making the rest. This week’s recipe is so easy it’s barely a recipe: watermelon salad. Just combine delicious ingredients for a great refreshing and seasonal snack or appetizer regardless of the color of the rest of your meal.
Please note: there aren’t any measurements below because the best part of this (RED)cipe is that you can portion it for as many people as needed or enjoy solo!
The Goods:
Watermelon
Feta Cheese
Red Onion
Fresh Mint
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Honey
Optional: Bay Leaf
The Steps:
1. Chop or slice the watermelon according to your preference (we did cubes), then lay it out on your serving platter or individual plates.
2. To make the balsamic reduction (for drizzling, duh) combine balsamic vinegar (you can use the cheaper stuff for this) and honey together in a small saucepan and place over high heat (ratio should be 1 to ¼ vinegar to honey). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the vinegar mixture has reduced, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool while you do the rest.
Pro Tip: Add bay leaf (or rosemary) while boiling for an additional layer of flavor.
3. THINLY slice the onion. We mean as thin as possible…if you can see through it – you done good. We find it helps if nobody is watching while you do this part 😉
4. Crumble up your feta.
5. Chiffonade your mint leaves. We went over this last time so please r
efer to that if necessary.
6. Drizzle olive oil over the watermelon and sprinkle with salt and pepper (to your liking).
7. Top with crumbled feta, onion slices, and mint and then drizzle the whole situation with the balsamic reduction.
8. Devour!
PS: you can enjoy a variation on the watermelon salad poolside at the Montauk Beach House as it’s available at No.50 – we gotchu!
Original Photography by Sasha Landskov.
