Watermelon Tomato Salad

Watermelon with tomatoes and onion??? You’re joking, right???

The “artist” in my friend, Nikki Rajala, comes out in a variety of ways. In addition to jewelry making, origami and crafting cards, this budding watercolorist loves to experiment with food — combining flavors, textures and colors for striking results. Her rendition of this new trend in watermelon salads is sure to please your palate (or should I say “palette.”) CJK

Watermelon Tomato Salad

(Nikki Rajala)

Photo by Bill Vossler

1/2 (5 to 6 lb.) watermelon, preferably seedless

4 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 medium sweet onion, diced*

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

4 tbsp. chopped fresh mint

1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled feta

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cut the watermelon flesh into 1-inch cubes, remove seeds and place in glass serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Shortly before serving, add tomatoes, onion, vinegar, olive oil and mint to the watermelon cubes and toss gently. Add the feta, salt and pepper and toss again. Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings

A note from Nikki: These unlikely ingredients blend in the most amazing way. I don’t know from one spoonful to the next if it will contain sweet melon or tart tomato. The salty feta and fresh mint add to the surprise. I’d love to use heirloom tomatoes, but they’re not usually available. I’ve also tried it with basil, black or kalamata olives and balsamic vinegar. (White balsamic is prettier, if you can find it.)

A note from Carol: *Sweet onions that would work well in this salad are Vidalia, Walla Walla or Maui, if you are lucky enough to come upon them. I would like to try crumbled feta cheese with lemon, garlic and oregano in it for this recipe. Using a glass bowl shows off this attractive salad but a hollowed out watermelon half would also be an interesting “serving bowl.”

See another of Nikki’s recipes — Honeydew Blueberry Salad — posted on FFF June 13, 2011.