Treat yourself to a perfectly refreshing summer salad! This salad is the perfect way to use up the other half of a large watermelon you didn’t eat. We also seem to have a little bit left over in the fridge after cracking open a melon. I love a savory application of watermelon, and the vinegar, basil, and shallot really help bring out the sweetness of a melon whether or not you get a super ripe one from summer.

We sprinkle a little sugar on the cut watermelon in the beginning and let it drain. This gives a little insurance that it’s a sweet melon experience and helps draw out some of the water so that it’s not a big soggy mess.

Watermelon Feta Salad

Ingredients

1 baby watermelon

2 teaspoons sugar

1 lemon

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 clamshell basil

1 cup arugula

1 shallot

8 ounces fresh mozzarella

Instructions

1. Ask a grown up for help cutting the rind off your watermelon. See notes for instructions. Using a kid-safe knife, cut watermelon into 1 inch cubes. Place watermelon in a colander on a plate and sprinkle your watermelon with sugar. Let sit while you make the dressing. 
2. To make your dressing, start by zesting and juicing your lemon into a small bowl. 
3. Add to your small bowl, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
4.  Wash and dry your basil. Place all your leaves on top of each other in a stack. Roll leaves up in a cylinder. Cut the cylinder into small slices with kitchen scissors (or a knife).
5. To a large salad bowl, add basil, 1 cup of arugula, shallot, watermelon, and dressing. Gently toss to coat everything in your dressing. 
6. Serve immediately. Does not keep well. Eat within a day or two.  

Notes: 

• The easiest way to cut the rind off the watermelon for a dish like this is to slice off the ends first, to make it flat and stable. Then, using a sharp chef’s knife, cut down from the top to bottom, angling your knife to remove all green and white white while preserving as much pink as possible. Continue around watermelon slicing from top to bottom until you’ve removed all the rind. Then cut watermelon into cubes.