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watermelon jerusalem salad

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5 from 2 reviews

Ingredients

For the watermelon rind quick pickles:

  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup small diced watermelon rind (green skins removed before dicing)

For the salad:

  • 4 cups small diced red watermelon (from about 1/4 of 1 medium watermelon or 1/2 of 1 mini watermelon)
  • 1 1/2 cups small diced tomato (from about 3 medium tomatoes)
  • 3 cups small diced cucumber (from about 5 Persian cucumbers)
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion (from about 2 green onions)
  • 1/4 cup washed, towel-dried, and minced fresh mint, plus 1 tablespoon more for garnish
  • The juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • More salt to taste (optional)
  • 8 ounces small diced firm feta (about 1 1/2 cups) *

Instructions

  1. Make the quick pickles: Mix the sugar, salt, and vinegar together until everything dissolves, and then submerge the watermelon rind in the vinegar and quick pickle it for 30 to 45 minutes while you’re prepping the rest of the ingredients. Once it’s done pickling, strain it very well and discard the vinegar or save it for another use (let the vinegar drain away for about 2 to 5 minutes).
  2. Make the salad: Gently fold together the watermelon, tomato, cucumber, and salt, and refrigerate for an hour.
  3. After an hour has gone by, strain the salad through a fine mesh colander, discarding the liquid. Do not press the salad against the colander, but gently shake the colander a few times to drain away the excess liquid. **
  4. Add the green onion, mint, lemon juice, olive oil, any additional salt, and the well-strained watermelon rind pickles, and gently fold to combine.
  5. At the last moment, very gently fold in the diced feta after you’ve made sure that the pieces are not stuck together.
  6. Garnish with another tablespoon minced fresh mint and serve immediately.

Notes

* For this recipe, a firm feta is best. If you’re using a soft feta, you should instead crumble it into big pieces and be extra careful when folding it in. If it’s soft cheese, don’t try to evenly distribute it or the pieces will just dissolve.
** Feel free to check out my original Jerusalem salad post if you want to see why I like to salt and strain Jerusalem salad. I’ve also got a recipe for Jerusalem salad pico de gallo, which doesn’t require straining.

Find it online: https://cardamomandtea.com/582/watermelon-jerusalem-salad/