Feta, Watermelon and Mint Salad

I am a big fan of turning a simple salad into a meal in itself.

The below recipe is a perfect example of it. Salty Feta cheese, sweet watermelon and fresh mint is already a happy marriage of the ingredients. But you can add a few more of them like capers for example, or cucumber, tomatoes, coarsely chopped pistachios, different herbs,  and play with different kinds of dressing.

During hot summer months a generous portion of the Feta and watermelon salad served with hunks of crunchy bread and a glass of chilled Prosecoo will make for a perfect garden lunch or supper.

I’ll limit myself here just to the listing of the ingredients that I like to put together, so you can adjust their ratio to your liking:

• ripe tomatoes, a few different varieties for contrast would be ideal (say sweet Cuore di Bue and anything that has a note of acidity)
• ripe, sweet and very fresh watermelon, chilled, seeds removed
• good quality Feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
• capers in salt, soaked for one hour in cold water then drained
• spring onion, thinly sliced
• cucumber, chilled
• mint leaves
• basil leaves
• parsley leaves (optional)
• salt
• mild olive oil from Liguria or Lake Garda
• lemon juice, be generous

Chop or slice and arrange neatly all the ingredients on a large serving plate.

Season everything with some salt, drizzle generously with the olive oil and lemon juice. Toss gently and serve immediately.