Watermelon and Feta

I realize my recent recipes have been feta heavy. I promise this is the last one I will post for a while, but I just couldn’t resist the watermelons stacked up at the store last week

Like many people, watermelon evokes lots of memories for me. The obvious one being summer but the more interesting is my dear old friend Kelly V. I pretty much can’t see a watermelon without thinking of her. Kelly spent a summer several years ago on a mission trip to Israel and when she returned she was obsessed with a favorite Tel Aviv snack,  watermelon and feta. I was a bit unconvinced that this was as delightful as she claimed when she first brought it up, but her enthusiasm and insistence of the wonders of this two tastes together convinced me to try it. Low and behold it is a fantastic combination of sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy and an amazing hot weather snack or side dish.  Kelly became so well known for touting this dish a friend bought her an adorable t-shirt with watermelon slices on it, which solidified the connection in my mind even more. When she left Berkeley for Chicago,  I sent along to her a old Zionist Congress poster that had once been on display at my old workplace. It was an illustration of a watermelon encouraging people to  “Buy Hebrew watermelon”. To my knowledge, the poster graced the wall of the Avodah bayit and now is happily ensconced in the dining room of Moishe House Chicago. I am sure that the visitors to her home know that the sweet friendly feelings that come along with the watermelon on the wall, are the same ones that she expresses to all the people she meets.

A couple of  brief asides – I will be at the Hazon Food Conference at UC Davis later this week and will be on the Food Writers Panel with Joan Nathan and Jeffery Yoskowitz. If any of my readers are there, come introduce yourself and be sure check out the panel!

Also, since I know there is one person out there who always reads my posts, a big happy birthday to my Dad today! Thanks for being such a faithful reader and always trying to think of a way for me to make money off the blog.

recipe after the break

In Israel, it is often served plainly with simple slices of watermelon and chunks of feta or a Bulgarian brine cheese similar to feta. I was lucky enough to stumble upon some of the Bulgarian cheese at Diablo Foods when I stopped in to do my quarterly stock up of my favorite peanut sauce. There are a variety of recipes out there, some call for more savory seasonings and accompaniments like basil or arugula but I went with a basic and sweeter route with mint and lime juice.

Watermelon and Feta

• watermelon, cut into bite size cubes
• feta or other salty cheese, crumbled
• fresh squeezed lime juice
• mint, chopped

1. To make cubing the watermelon easier, cut of both end so you have a flat surface to balance it on and then cut off the rind.
2. Put the watermelon in a bowl and sprinkle with mint, squeeze on the juice from a lime and stir to combine.
3. Add crumbled feta and stir lightly. Serve cold

simple ingredients

cut off the ends for stable cutting

a giant melon ball

cubed and tossed with mint and lime juice

watermelon and feta