You’re probably thinking that I am really stretching the seasonality concept here…a watermelon salad in New York in October?
Well, here’s the deal. I grew this cute little yellow watermelon in my garden and it’s been in my refrigerator for a while…I’d pretty much forgotten about it, in fact, but for it being “W” day!
This recipe is from the a special issue of Gourmet magazine featuring recipes from A to Z- the inspiration for me blogging the alphabet this month.
Accompanying the recipe is this note: “watermelon and yogurt may sound like unlikely bedfellows, but this refreshing dish deliciously disproves that assumption. Flaky shards of sea salt, added just before serving, highlight both the melon’s sweetness and the sauce’s savory tang”. Such a lovely description; makes me extremely sad that Gourmet will soon be no more…
With the first frost claiming much of my produce earlier this week, I was happy to still be able to use my own watermelon and mint in the salad; alas I have no more homegrown cucumbers, but this is a great salad and I’ll definitely make it again next summer when I’ve got lots growing in my garden.
The magazine states that you should serve the tzatziki with the salad; I actually used it like a dressing and enjoyed it this way a great deal. I added some minced dill and used Persian cucumbers (which are very small and don’t need to be peeled), but did everything else pretty much as instructed. Visually, the yellow watermelon is not as striking as a typical red one would be- I’ll try that next time, I think.
Watermelon and Cucumber Mint Tzatziki Salad
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 cucumbers medium
- 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt plain
- 2/3 cup mint chopped
- 6 cups watermelon rind removed and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tbsp lime juice fresh
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt and transfer to a bowl.
- Peel 1 cucumber, then halve lengthwise and seed. Coarsely grate into bowl with garlic paste. Stir in yogurt, 1/3 cup mint, and 3/4 teaspoon salt to make tzatziki.
- Peel remaining cucumber and halve lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices.
- Toss sliced cucumber with watermelon, remaining 1/3 cup mint, and lime juice in a large bowl.
- Serve fruit with tsatsiki. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.
