Watermelon Salad

Posted by Hiba on Jul 01, 2013 in Recipes & Food

My family and I spent almost every summer growing up visiting my extended family in Jordan.

Being so scarce the rest of the year meant we were invited for lunches and dinners almost every day. But the nights we didn’t have anything special and just stayed home with my Grandmother always meant one thing: Watermelon and white cheese for dinner.

I loved this dinner. So simple, yet refreshing. And no other fruit reminds me of summers in Jordan quite like watermelon.

I pulled together this slightly more sophisticated version of my Grandmother’s dinner to make it into more of a real meal. The tastes go really well together, combining the sweetness of the watermelon with the saltiness of the cheese and olives, the sourness of the lime, the bitterness of the arugula and the pungent taste of the red onion and oregano.

A side note: According to the ancient science of Ayurveda, in order for a meal to be balanced and satisfying, it is essential for all the tastes mentioned above to be present. This can even help reduce cravings for foods like sweets. You can find our more about the six Ayurvedic tastes here.

INGREDIENTS:

1 small watermelon (to avoid the seeds)

1 small red onion

Black olives

Handful of arugula leaves

Feta cheese (or even better, Haloumi cheese if you can find it)

Drizzle of olive oil

Juice of 2 limes

Dash of sea salt & pepper

Dried oregano or zaatar mix

METHOD:

Chop all ingredients and place together in a bowl. Dress with lime or lemon juice and olive oil and season with herbs.