Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

Too many years ago I ate one of the most delicious meals of my life in the kitchen of one of my dearest friend’s houses. She was living in Athens at the time and we visited her at the beginning of the summer, just before the temperature began to bite. The evenings were long and balmy and her husband came home from work with an enormous watermelon. It was perfectly ripe and tasted like no melon I had ever eaten before. It was vivid, bright and refreshing. We ate it with some fresh, salty halloumi cheese with a bowl of nuts and lashings of cold wine. It was heaven. A simple but perfect meal making a memory to last forever.

When I saw watermelons were being stocked again I of course knew it was unlikely I’d find any as tasty as that one, but they did seem just ripe. I have made the dish you see in the photo with a seedless watermelon (which my youngest will be thrilled with as he hates picking out the inky black seeds) and it means you can do fun, crazy things like cut out shapes. You can, of course, just cut the melon into chunks as well.

I have used feta as I feel it works well in this salad and is cheaper and easier to come by than really good halloumi. It also goes a little further as it covers the melon more readily. I would make and serve this on a platter rather than in a bowl as you don’t need to toss this salad and it looks much better if the cheese is sitting on the melon. I have also used some mint from the garden because it grows like the weed it is useful to have around. But because whole melons are at their best and cheapest this platter for four comes in at about £1.50! Summer just got tastier…