I made this salad the other day, actually on my Name Day, on a whim, after inhaling the sweet aroma of a freshly cut watermelon and wanting to eat it right then and there but not on its own. Yes, it was my Name Day, and one would assume that dinner would have been something fancy yet this, this was all I was craving and wanted.
Fresh, crisp watermelon dripping with pink-reddish juices, salty feta, fiery red onion, exotic, zingy lime juice, rich, smooth extra virgin olive oil, bright, fresh mint and a beautiful little concoction of sea salt crystals rubbed together with some ground, lemony and tart sumac sprinkled over the whole salad.
Had it with some Cretan barley paksimadia and was as happy as I could ever be with my Name Day dinner.
Watermelon, feta and sumac salad
Feel free to make this salad your own by adding ingredients you have on hand and prefer. I would also go for some olives, especially green ones which I love, or capers, and surely, a few ripe, cherry tomatoes would be great here too.
No amounts given because salad. Do your thing.
Ingredients
Watermelon, juicy and crisp, freshly cut
Feta, Greek of course, gently cut with your fingers into small pieces
Red onion, thinly sliced
Lime juice, freshly squeezed
Extra virgin olive oil, Greek of course
Fresh mint leaves, picked and torn
Sea salt crystals, I use Maldon
Ground sumac
Preparation
Take a large platter and arrange the watermelon pieces. Squeeze some lime juice over the fruit, to enhance the sweet flavor and scatter the onions around. Add the feta. Drizzle with olive oil. Rub together in a small bowl the salt and sumac, and sprinkle it generously over the top. Add more sumac if needed and finish with the mint.
Enjoy immediately.
