Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad

By Martha Rose Shulman

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(372)
Comments
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I love watermelon and feta salad, whether the watermelon is grilled or not. The sweet, juicy watermelon against the salty, creamy feta and pungent onions is a winning combination. This version introduces heat — if you serve it right after grilling the melon (it isn’t a must) — and char. Throw the watermelon slices, with the rind, onto the grill after or before you’ve grilled your meat or fish or vegetables. Grill them on both sides until just charred, then cut away the rinds and dice up the melon for the salad.

Featured in: These Fruits Were Made for Grilling

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4
  • 1small red onion, sliced
  • 3large or 4 smaller 1-inch-thick slices watermelon
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • Salt to taste
  • 2tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 2ounces feta cheese, crumbled
  • ¼ to ½teaspoon Aleppo pepper or mild chili powder (to taste)
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place sliced onion in a bowl and cover with water and 1 teaspoon of the vinegar. Soak 5 minutes, then drain and rinse. Drain on paper towels.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare a medium-hot grill. Use 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to brush the watermelon slices lightly. Grill for about 3 minutes per side, or until charred. Remove from heat and dice. Transfer, with juice, to a large salad bowl.

  3. Step 3

    Add onions and remaining ingredients and toss together. Let sit for a few minutes or for up to an hour before serving. Toss again just before serving.

  4. Step 4

Tip
  • Advance preparation: The completed salad can be made an hour or two before serving. Or you can grill the watermelon right before you assemble and serve the salad so that the watermelon is hot.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
372 user ratings
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Comments

jw

This was a big hit, but next time I won't dress it in advance - the vinegar made quick work of dissolving the watermelon and feta and I ended up with soup in the bottom of the salad bowl.

Left Coast Cook

Too lazy/time pressed to grill the watermelon; just chopped it and used it fresh. Does NOT keep - the watermelon just "melts." For a party: Put the watermelon, feta, mint, and onion in large container. Just as the burgers come off the grill, put a bunch of baby arugula in a wide but not deep salad bowl (not called for here but yummy and pretty). Then add the dressing to the watermelon etc., toss gently, then transfer to the top of the arugula. Everybody loved it!!

Susanna

Rather than using dressing (olive oil and sherry vinegar), just use pickled red onion. The dressing is not needed here. Heck, I often make this without onion at all. For me, the import thing is to cut the watermelon in a bite size chunk where you can get a bit of feta and mint with it. I always sprinkle Tajin over the whole thing.

comparison NYT watermelon/ feta recipes

I couldn’t decide between the two recipes in this app so I did them both at the same time. This one came out maybe a quarter of a star higher in my opinion than the other recipe although both are quite good

Jessica

Don't bother grilling the watermelon - it weakens the flavour making it taste more like squash, and texture is meh. Think it would be way better raw.

mrs. hero

After reading the notes I skipped grilling the watermelon and dressed this as my final step in meal prep - was the favorite at dinner

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