HOW TO MAKE A WATERMELON, FETA CHEESE, RED ONION AND MINT SALAD

Good Morning to you,

When I lived in Cyprus, I used to look forward to the watermelon season, because Cypriot watermelons were delicious and I have to tell you, they were huge.... yes, so huge that we could never do them justice in just one sitting.  So to make sure we did not waste any of this lovely fruit, we would cut the watermelon in half, keep one and share the other half with friends..... if only I had known about watermelon juice back then, we could have enjoyed many glasses of the refreshing juice during the long hot summer months.

So as you can imagine, when we visited New Delhi, I was thrilled to discover that watermelons were in season. 

The watermelons were so fresh, because they had not travelled very far. Cart loads of melons would trundle into the city everyday from the surrounding villages. 

So today, in honour of my love of Cyprus and India, yes, I think you have guessed, one of the ingredients we are going to be using is, watermelon. We are going to make

a Watermelon salad.  It is fresh and zingy and we love it.  It may seem a bit of a strange combination, but the sweetness of the watermelon and the tang of the Feta cheese and red onion work really well together.

So its 'on with the pinnie' and the music, I am listening to is, Indian Bhangra music, which transports me straight back to India.

Nath Dig Pey sung by TEAMBPN (PBN, BAMBI AND RAJ BAINS)

Click on the YouTube link (I do hope it works as it is the first time I have added a YouTube link..... fingers crossed) and I feel sure, you will be foot tapping, if not dancing around your kitchen... I know I am.  I find Bhangra music so infectious..... the music starts and I feel my shoulders moving up and down in time to the music and then that's it, I'm in a world of my own. 

So with my shoulders taking on a life of their own, it's time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

WATERMELON, FETA CHEESE, RED ONION

AND MINT SALAD

2 small red onions (you will use only one)

1/2 water melon

2 large lemons

200g Feta cheese

8-10 fresh mint leaves

black pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil

HOW TO MAKE

WATERMELON, FETA CHEESE, RED ONION

AND MINT SALAD

THE NIGHT BEFORE

We are going to tenderise the red onions with the lemon juice, so you will need to do this the night before you make the salad.

Peel the onions

and

slice into circles.

Pop into a bowl

Juice the two lemons.

Then 

pour the lemon juice over the onion rings.

  Toss together.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place in the fridge overnight.  

If you are happy with full flavoured onions,

 then leave the red onions in the fridge

 for three or four hours.

I soak the onions overnight as

personally I enjoy a much more

mellow flavoured onion.

We will only be using half of the sliced onion in this dish. 

So remove half and place into a separate dish.

 I will explain why at the end

of the recipe.

THE NEXT DAY

Cut the melon in half

(The recipe calls for half, but I assume you have bought a whole watermelon)

and then,

into quarters.

Remove the rind and the pips and cut the

watermelon into 1 inch chunks.

Set aside for the moment.

Cut the Feta Cheese into roughly 1 inch cubes.

Set aside for the moment.

Wash the fresh mint and remove the leaves from the stem.

Place a third of the watermelon, 

a third of the Feta cheese 

and 

a third of the red onion into a large serving bowl 
and,

sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Repeat the process until you have used all of the watermelon, Feta cheese and the red onion.

You will notice there is some watermelon juice left in the bottom of the bowl which held the watermelon.

Mix the watermelon juice

with,

 1 tablespoon of olive oil

 and 

1 tablespoon of lemon juice left over from the

 soaked onions

 and

 whisk together.

Pour the dressing over the salad

 and 

add the mint leaves

 and
 there you have it,
 a lovely fresh summer salad.

You must be wondering about the rest of the
 onion rings?

Well it's time to tell you, I pop them into a small Tupperware pot, with the left over lemon juice and keep them for the next day, when we use the other half of the watermelon to  re-make this salad.

I really don't mind having this watermelon salad twice as it really is a refreshing salad when the weather is warm.

.... or if you prefer, you could put them into a small dish and allow people to add extra red onion to the watermelon salad.

.... or you could add the onions to a cheese sandwich as George sometimes does.... he loves cheese and onion sandwiches.

Before I go, I realise some people say a watermelon is a fruit and some people say it is a vegetable.  I have always known it as a fruit. I was wondering, what about you, do you know it is a fruit or do you know it is a vegetable?

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Natasha in Oz for Sundays Downunder

and

Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday