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Have fun watermelon season with this gentle and flavorful salad tossed in a vivid white balsamic French dressing.
Throughout a getaway to Santa Barbara final month, Barclay and I took a day journey to Ojai and fully fell in love with the picturesque, laid-back little city. We wandered from store to buy, stopped right into a handful of cute cafés and wineries, and soaked up the California sunshine. However the sudden standout of the day? A recent watermelon salad from a candy spot referred to as Little Gem. ♡
It was the whole lot a summer time salad ought to be — juicy watermelon, peppery arugula, salty feta, crunchy nuts, and crispy shallots, all tossed collectively in a lightweight and tangy French dressing. We couldn’t cease speaking about it the remainder of the week! In order quickly as we arrived house, I began testing my very own model, and it has rapidly earned a everlasting spot in our rotation throughout watermelon season.
It’s recent, easy, and completely balanced with vibrant flavors — the type of recipe that works simply as properly for a fast weeknight dinner because it does for a yard cookout with pals. I extremely advocate taking the additional couple of minutes to fry up a batch of your individual crispy shallots, which add a lot taste right here, however you may as well simply seize a bag on the retailer (we like those from TJ’s) in case you’d like to avoid wasting a step. Let’s make some salad!
Recipe Variations
This watermelon salad is endlessly adaptable, so be happy to combine and match substances to fit your style or no matter you have got available. For instance, be happy to:
- Add a protein. Prime the salad with grilled shrimp, rooster, and even prosciutto in case you’d like so as to add a protein.
- Add some grains. Stir in an enormous scoop of cooked quinoa, farro or couscous to make it extra hearty.
- Amp up the warmth. Thinly slice a jalapeño or drizzle in a little bit of sizzling honey or chili crisp in case you love a sweet-and-spicy vibe.
- Combine and match your greens, cheese, nuts or onions. Swap the arugula for child spinach, spring combine, or Romaie. Attempt creamy goat cheese, cotija, or recent burrata as an alternative of feta. Use toasted almonds, walnuts, pecans, or pepitas rather than pistachios. And in case you’d quite skip the crispy shallots, you’ll be able to simply use thinly sliced uncooked shallots as an alternative.
- Use grilled watermelon. For a touch of smoky taste, rapidly grill thick slabs of watermelon earlier than dicing — only a minute or two per facet.
Extra Fruit-Crammed Salad Recipes To Attempt!
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Watermelon Salad:
- 24 ounces (about 5 cups) diced watermelon
- 5 ounces child arugula
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachios, divided
- 1/2 cup crispy fried shallots, divided
- 1/4 cup (about 0.25 ounce) julienned recent mint leaves
White Balsamic French dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon fantastic sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Make the French dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk collectively the olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper till properly mixed.
- Assemble the salad. In a big mixing bowl, mix the watermelon, arugula, feta, half of the pistachios, half of the shallots and mint. Drizzle evenly with the French dressing. Toss very gently till mixed.
- Serve. Serve instantly, garnished with the remaining pistachios, crispy shallots, and an additional twist of black pepper. Get pleasure from!
Notes
Recipe impressed by the watermelon salad at Little Gem in Ojai — make sure you cease in and check out theirs in case you’re on the town!