The best watermelon salad imaginable

I daresay watermelon is summer’s most darling melon.

Cantaloupe and honeydew are both delicious, I am not casting shade on either, but there is nothing finer — or more hydrating, or more delicious — than watermelon.

92% water and packed with electrolytes, its juicy-sweet, scarlet pink flesh, perfectly ripe and ice cold, is what my body craves this time of year, especially these last weeks when the outside air feels like an oven, albeit a very humid one. I cannot get enough of this favored fruit; it is a lifeline thrown out on sweltering summer days.

With this oppressive heat, the only reason to wish summer could last a little longer would be to prolong the availability of good watermelon. Summer is its time.

Throughout the season, I have fresh cut and sliced watermelon ready and waiting in my largest covered bowl in the refrigerator all the time. I never run out. Before the last is polished off, I am off to pick out the next one, using methods I learned from my parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, in addition to heeding the advice given by all the friendly people at the farmers markets who like to share their own relied upon ways for choosing a winning melon. 

I look, I tap, I listen. I feel its weight in my arms, trying to discern whether it is heavier than another of similar size (heavy for its size is good). I look to its underside for a yellow, not white, ground spot, an indication of having been in the field longer, which is a big plus because a watermelon does not continue to ripen and sweeten once it is cut from its vine.

For the most part, however, I know if the watermelon are going to be good overall or not based on the weather we have had during their growing season. Like tomatoes, watermelons are picky about how much rain they prefer, and they also like an abundance of warm sunny days in between those rains. The years when the stars align and conditions leading up to harvest are fairly optimal, oh my, is that ever cause for celebration.

I have eaten many wonderful watermelon salads that vary in terms of how much the watermelon holds the starring role. Despite thoroughly enjoying so many of them, this recipe for Watermelon Salad is my personal favorite. It is the only one I make with regularity, and it is, 100%, all about the watermelon.

There are several things, I believe, that make it such a standout above the rest: One, there are no other high water content ingredients, like cucumbers or tomatoes, to drown out or take away from the watermelon. Secondly, nothing is added to mellow, like a creamy dressing or chunks of avocado. And lastly, there are no strong or overpowering herbs that might call too much attention to themselves. The ingredients chosen only enhance by focusing on the most tried and true companion ever to be joined with watermelon: salt.

The salty flavor is brought in with Kalamata olives and feta cheese.  A squeeze of fresh lemon along with fresh, peppery extra virgin olive oil, shaved purple onion, and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper take it all up a level. And a final sprinkling of fresh parsley is all the green you need for this elegant salad to taste even fresher.   

I got my hands on this recipe the summer of 1996, the year the olympics were held in Atlanta, Georgia. My friend’s husband, who worked for Coca-Cola at the time, was tapped to run the olympic torch for a portion of its route through the city. He finagled it so that he ran the leg that passed right in front of his and my friend’s house on Monroe Drive. This salad was served at the catered after party that evening. At the time, I could not imagine these ingredients coming together to make the most cooling and delicious watermelon salad I had ever tasted, but they did and they do. 

I believe this salad cannot be improved upon as long as you start with a great watermelon. I have not changed a thing in the almost thirty years I have been making it.

Watermelon Salad

Yields

4 to 6 servings

Prep Time

15 minutes

Refrigeration Time

15 minutes

Ingredients

6 to 8 cups sweet, not-at-all mealy watermelon chunks, seeds removed 

1/4 to 1/2 medium red onion

1 jar pitted Kalamata olives, drained and chopped

1 block feta cheese, crumbled

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 to 2 lemons

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Set prepared watermelon chunks aside. Remove ends from onion and slice in half, then in half again, like a plus-sign (+). Slice into wafer thin, almost translucent, quarter-moons. Set aside. 

2. Drain and chop olives. Set aside.

3. Wash, dry and chop parsley. Set aside.

4. In a salad bowl, place a thick layer of watermelon, then top with a light layer of sliced onions, olives, and feta. Repeat layers until all watermelon is in bowl. (Use far more watermelon than onions, olives and feta.) Sprinkle top with fresh parsley.

5. Make dressing: Whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and a light to medium sprinkle of cayenne. 

6. Pour over salad, and stir very gently to mix and coat.

7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

   *If you choose to make a larger salad and have leftovers, this salad keeps very well. It will be just as delicious for up to three days. I have never thrown out a single bite no matter how much I have made at any given time.