Watermelon Salad with Feta and Balsamic Glaze

This simple Watermelon and Feta salad is the perfect mix of sweet and salty. But best of all it's light and refreshing making it the perfect light lunch for a summer day.

Summer Salads

If you walk down any high street in North London at this time of year you are guaranteed to see one thing - large crates stacked high with watermelons, big, swollen and juicy.  I don't know why but whenever we buy one I always get the urge to root through the whole crate looking for the largest!  

Even though there are only two of us, I really have to fight the desire to cause a nuisance of myself so that I can find the biggest and best.  There's just nothing like a fresh watermelon.

There's a lot to be said for just eating a cold, juicy wedge on a hot summers day but this versatile fruit can be used in a whole range of dishes, including in summer salads.

Mixing sweet and savoury

Fruit in salads is not a new idea.  In fact I've already shared quite a few on this blog, including:

• Blood Orange, Beetroot and Kale Salad
• Middle Eastern Inspired Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Winter Citrus Salad
• Griddled Chicory, Apple and Stilton Salad
• Broccoli and Raisin Pasta Salad
• Pomegranate, Walnut and Bulgur Wheat Salad
• Fresh Fig Salad with Cured Ham and Mozarella
• Grilled Nectarine and Goats Cheese Salad

Many of these salads include the mix of fruit and cheese. It's a classic pairing that has been used on cheeseboards for years!

Sweet and salty works particularly well so I chose to top the fresh, clean taste of watermelon with salty feta and sweet and sticky balsamic glaze. This salad isn't just about the balance of flavours though, it's also about the textures.  The watermelon has it's characteristic bite which contrasts with the soft, crumbly feta and the balsamic glaze.

Once you get over the mental block of putting fruit in a savoury dish, the possibilities are endless.

Make it vegan

If, like me, you've made the jump to a plant based diet then I can recommend the following brands of vegan feta to add to this salad:

• Strictly Roots Vegan Betta Feta - in my opinion the most realistic feta substitute on the market. It's beautiful too!
• I am Nut Ok Fetamorphosis - a little on the pricey size but the jar is a decent side and the marinade is delicious.
• Cauldron Greek Style Cubes - easy to find in the supermarket and reasonably priced too!
• Violife Greek White Block - readily available in most supermarkets in the UK

If you want to know more about my vegan cheese recommendations check out this post.

The recipe

More summer recipes

To check out more tasty dishes that are perfect for the warmer months, check out my summer recipe archive.

Let me know what you think!

I'll be the first to admit that it's a little difficult to call this a recipe...  Really this Watermelon Salad is just an assembly job, a very tasty and rather pretty assembly job...  But what more do you want?!  I get so lazy when it comes to cooking in the summer so this recipe is ideal for me. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way!

Do leave a comment or star rating if you try this recipe. And, if you've got any other fun ways of using watermelon beyond just sinking your teeth straight into a big wedge of the stuff or building a pretty summer salad,  I'd love to hear in the comments below!