Editor’s Note: Today’s healthy recipe is brought to us by Libbie Summers, a recognized food and lifestyle tastemaker. Her work has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Vogue, and on the OWN Show. She now serves as the Creative Culinary Director of the newly launched Terra’s Kitchen, a meal delivery service focusing on farm fresh ingredients. Take it away, Libbie!
When my son was young, he started calling a watermelon wedge diced in the rind “fancy melon.” In toddler Jenga fashion, his tiny fingers would strategically pull out the diced pieces from the rind bringing on contagious juicy giggles. With a few simple cuts, the humble watermelon wedge will instantly become “fancy” in the eyes of any guests at your table. And topped with a simple fruit salsa, salty feta, and crunchy pistachios… it’s extra fancy.
Cherry Watermelon Wedge Salad
Serves 4
Cherry Watermelon Wedge Salad
Categories
Ingredients
- 4 watermelon wedges (about 6-8" long and 3-4" wide at the rind)
- 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and roughly chopped (feel free to sub any fruit here)
- 1/4 jalapeno, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 juicy lime
- flake sea salt
- coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
- olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Cut the lime in half. Cut one half into wedges and set aside for serving. In a small bowl, stir together the cherries, jalapeño, cilantro, and juice of 1/2 lime. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Working with one wedge at a time, start your cuts from the peak of the watermelon wedge, make vertical slices 1" wide just down to the rind (don't cut through the rind).
- Next, with your knife at a 45-degree angle, make horizontal cuts about 1" wide on one side of the wedge working from the peak to the rind without slicing through the rind. Spin to the other side of the wedge and repeat the process. Finally, run your knife along the rind of the wedge.
- Place one watermelon wedge on each plate pulling out a few of the pieces of melon slightly to give a "shelf" for the salsa to land on. Spoon salsa over each wedge. Top each with feta and pistachios. Drizzle with olive oil and finish with a pinch of salt. Serve with a lime wedge on the side.
