Cucumber, Feta and Watermelon Salad: A Taste of Israel

This light, fresh watermelon salad is loaded with cucumber, feta, olives, and handfuls of leafy herbs. Parsley and mint are not only bystanders - they team up with fresh lemon to add a hit of WOW to this salad and make it an unforgettable side dish at summer barbecues and picnics. (Skip to recipe.)

This month on our Eat the World recipe challenge we travel to a land of contrasts, a land of mystery and history, a land that stirs intense emotion in the hearts of millions: Israel. This place, small and mighty, is considered a homeland by so many who have not ever even set foot on it. It is the ancient birthplace of Christianity and the object of wars and battles over its borders that have been raging for centuries and continue to this day. It contains magnificent remnants of man's earliest history alongside breathtakingly modern architecture and structures of innovative design. Ancient temples are just a stone's throw from spectacular beaches, discos, and vibrant nightlife.

My own snapshot of Isreal is strongly influenced by the romantic vision of its unique kibbutz culture. I became friends in high school with the indomitable Judy (still a dear friend all these decades later), who had a very adventurous spirit, and while the rest of us poor saps stayed in school and followed the proper and expected route to post secondary education, she finished her studies early and gallivanted halfway around the world to live and work in a kibbutz in Israel. I had no idea what the heck that was, but it was exotic and exciting and the height of wild, adventurous freedom. Listening to her crazy wonderful stories after she came back from her adventures left me with this vision of a land of milk and honey filled with sunshine and blue skies nourishing crops of every imaginable fruit and vegetable. (These visions didn't include the hard labour needed to plant, harvest, and prepare all this rich agricultural bounty.)

So now, whenever I serve this sweet, luscious salad bursting with sun-kissed watermelon and cool cucumbers, I can feel like I'm enjoying a little taste of Israel's great harvest. I've been making a version of this salad for years. When I first tasted the bright and unique flavour combination of sweet watermelon, salty feta cheese and olives, and fresh mint, I was absolutely entranced. Our family loves it and I hope you will, too.

Bring a bowl of this eye-catching watermelon salad to a potluck, picnic, or barbecue, and I bet it'll disappear like a rabbit in a hat. No one can resist the call of these glistening garden jewels.

Happy summertime living with this little taste of the Israeli sunshine.

* * * * *

Kitchen Frau Notes: If you're not a fan of olives, just omit them. You can also omit the cucumber and add a couple extra cups of watermelon chunks. Or use limes instead of lemons, white onions instead of red, avocado cubes or diced sweet bell peppers instead of cucumbers, increase the black pepper . . . . just don't skip the watermelon or the mint!

For another fantastic watermelon recipe, try this zesty Watermelon Salsa.

Cucumber, Feta, and Watermelon Salad

• ¼ of a large red onion, sliced crosswise into thin half-moons (about ½ cup of slices)
• zest of one lemon
• ¼ cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice (from about 1½ lemons)
• 2¼ lbs (1 kg) sweet, ripe watermelon (weight with peel), about 4½ cups cut into 1 inch/2.5cm cubes
• 1 long English cucumber
• ¾ cup (100gms) pitted black olives
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 bunch flat-leaved parsley
• 1 bunch mint
• 8 oz (225gms) diced feta cheese (about 1½ cups, cut into ¾ inch/2cm dice)

Slice the red onion crosswise into thin half-moons and put them into a small bowl. Zest the lemon over them and add the lemon juice, tossing the onions to coat them well. Leave them to macerate for about 15 minutes, stirring them occasionally, while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Cut the peel off the watermelon and remove any black seeds. Cut the watermelon flesh into 1 inch (2.5cm) cubes and tip them into a large, wide salad bowl. Slice the English cucumber in half lengthwise, then use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds, leaving two long canoe-shaped channels, unpeeled. Cut the halves crosswise into pencil-thick half-moon slices (you should have about 2 cups). Add these to the watermelon cubes, as well as the black olives and the pepper.

Pluck the leaves from the stems of the flat-leaved parsley (I find this very therapeutic) and add them to the salad. (Discard the stems or reserve them for the soup pot.) Pluck the mint leaves from the stems and chop the leaves (discard the stems). Add them to the salad.

Add the macerated onion with the lemon juice. Use a spatula to get all the bits of lemon zest scraped into the salad, too.

Drizzle everything with the olive oil, then toss it gently with your hands.

Dice the feta cheese into ¾ inch cubes and add it to the salad. Toss it very lightly (your hands work best, so the cheese cubes don't break apart.

Serves 8.

Guten Appetit!

 

Check out all the wonderful Israeli dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Limonana
Sue at Palatable Pastime:Lemony Roasted Garlic Hummus with Herb Toasted Pita
Pandemonium Noshery: Grilled Chicken Shawarma
Margaret at Kitchen Frau: Israeli Watermelon, Cucumber & Feta Salad
Loreto and Nicoletta, Sugarlovespices: Zaatar Roasted Carrots with Labneh
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Date Glazed Beef Kebabs
Evelyne: Burnt Eggplant Salad Green Tahini Dressing
Amy: Chicken Albondigas

 

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Check out my past ‘Eat the World’ Recipe Challenge posts:

• A Taste of Ireland: Dublin Coddle (A tasty Sausage and Potato Stew)
• A Taste of Thailand: Shrimp Laksa (Khung)
• A Taste of Kenya: Maharagwe with Ugali (Red Beans with Cornmeal Slice)
• A Taste of Sweden: Swedish Meatballs with Cream Gravy
• A Taste of New Zealand: Classic Pavlova
• A Taste of France: Axoa d’Espelette (A Simple Stew from the Basque Country)
• A Taste of Argentina: Red Chimichurri Sauce
• A Taste of India: Kerala Upma (Fluffy, Kerala Style Breakfast Upma Recipe)
• A Taste of Poland: Polish Honey Cake
• A Taste of Ethiopia: Four Ethiopian Recipes for a Fantastic Feast
• A Taste of England: Gluten Free Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas
• A Taste of Georgia: Charkhlis Chogi (Beets with Sour Cherry Sauce)
• A Taste of Mexico: Cochinita Pibil Tacos (Pit Barbecued Pig to Make in Your Oven)
• A Taste of Cambodia: Noum Kong (Cambodian Rice Flour Doughnuts)