Watermelon, Feta & Mint Salad

I blogged a while back about wanting to try some new recipes this summer. A new, adventurous salad was on the list. I bought one of those cute mini seedless watermelons (so cute, right?) this week and decided to try making a salad with it. I had seen several different recipes involving watermelon, feta and mint. They were all slightly different, so when it came down to choosing I ended up using different elements of several recipes. I wanted to keep it simple and involve the fewest ingredients so the flavors would burst through.

Watermelon, Feta & Mint Salad

1/2 mini watermelon, cubed

8 oz feta cheese

hearty bunch of fresh mint, cut into ribbons (chiffonade)

Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

olive oil

white pepper

Cube the water melon and place in a bowl, add the feta cheese. For the dressing, I combined probably a touch more than a 1/4 cup of balsamic, and just a bit (probably about an 1/8 of a cup) of olive oil in a bowl with several grinds of white pepper (black pepper would probably work just fine too). Once whisked together, pour the dressing over the watermelon feta mixture. Chiffonade the mint and add to bowl. Mix in most of the mint and gently combine everything and save a bit of the mint for a garnish so your dish looks pretty before serving.

Overall this is a really simple recipe to make. Chopping the watermelon was the most time consuming part of the process and it didn't really take that long. You could also use a melon baller, which may make the process of freeing the rind-locked melon go more quickly. Plus you get to call yourself a "baller" while doing it!

I took the salad to A's 4th of July gathering. (A- we had so much fun with y'all! Thanks!) I really liked how the flavors tasted altogether - absolutely love the mint- others may have not known what it was all about. It seems like it has the potential to be one of those salads you start seeing at every summer gathering since it's so easy, but I think the look and idea of the flavors has yet to catch on as a mainstream go-to pot luck staple. Give it a try if you're looking for something a little different and absolutely refreshing to do with watermelon. I just ate some as a snack and it's still delicious the day after. It does get a little juicy the day after. Just drain off some of the juice and use a slotted spoon to scoop it out of the dish. Enjoy!