Watermelon and Feta Salad #nosadsalads no. 1

For the next few weeks I am going to run a ‘No Sad Salads’ series, to show that salads don’t have to be joyless bowls of rabbit food, whose contents would otherwise sit at the back of the fridge for two weeks, wilting down to slimy green mush. And there won’t be any of those awful stock ‘health eating’ pictures, of women laughing hysterically into bowls of lettuce. We’re aiming for dynamic, zingy salads. Salads that you suddenly remember on a Thursday evening and just HAVE to make that weekend. We want flavour explosions, full spectrums of colour, and layers of textures. We want salads that satisfy you but leave you wanting just a little bit more.

So first up in No Sad Salads is the least sad salad of all – Watermelon, Feta and Mint. It’s just sunshine and happiness in a bowl. I first made it years ago on a rare hot ( read warm) summer day in Galway, to go with a barbecue. It’s so refreshing. I love it after a long bike ride, having spent all day huffing and puffing (and sweating!) up and down the endless hills in Kent. Between the water and sugar from the watermelon and the salt from the feta, it’s basically an electrolyte drink on a plate! Just a lot tastier.

I have such a soft spot for watermelon, it reminds me of so many summer memories. My earliest watermelon memory was when we were in France on a family holiday in Britany.  I must have been about ten, and my older brother was allowed to go into the local village on his own. I was so jealous of his freedom. When he came back one day with half a watermelon, I was flabbergasted that that was what he used his liberty for! But I was also quite impressed.  How sophisticated to go buy your own fruit. And at that age, I had never seen fruit so big that you only buy a chunk of it – for some reason that struck me as such a cultured ‘French market’ thing to do!

These quantities are a bit of a guess/ suggestion for the watermelon, feta and mint. I recently listened to an episode of the I’ll Have What She’s Having podcast, where they discussed dressing salads with vinegar first and then the oil. Since then I’ve changed the way I dress this. It makes sense when you think about it, if you do oil first everything else slides off! So rather than make up the dressing and pour it over, I’ve gone straight in vinegar first then olive oil.

Also if you want to bring this salad with you to a picnic or friend’s house, I like to chop the watermelon and put in a big Tupperware. Get a jar, add the chopped mint to the bottom, then chopped feta, then drizzle over the vinegar and oil and close tightly. Shake a few times to mix and then off you go! Bonne Maman is my jar choice because they’re so pretty and remind me of France!

Ingredients

• Watermelon – about ¼  of a very big one , ½ a smaller one

• Feta – about ½ a block /100g but feel free to add more to avoid waste

• Mint – a handful of leaves

• White wine/Apple cider vinegar – 2 tablespoons

• Olive oil – 2 tablespoons

Method

1.      Chop your watermelon into cubes – I like a mix of big and small cubes for variety! If you have time you can drain in a sieve for 30 min for a less wet salad.

2.      Chop your feta into cubes and finely chop the mint leaves.

3.      Combine all three in a serving bowl, drizzle over the vinegar and then the olive oil.

4.      Enjoy!