The idea for Watermelon Tomato Salad came from my adopted daughter Vera. She had eaten a watermelon salad at one of her favorite restaurants in Los Angeles. She raved about it and brought me one to sample. It was delicious but I had an idea of how to make it even tastier.  Vera volunteered to be quality control and the official taste tester.

I created my version of a Watermelon Tomato Salad making enough for 3 generous portions, thinking someone would stop by and it wouldn’t be wasted. Vera took a forkful and after the first bite, looked around and asked if anyone else had “dibs” on the salad. I said, “No,” and she proceeded to clean the bowl.

Here’s the salad. Enjoy!

Mixed heirloom tomatoes for the Watermelon Salad.

Watermelon

WATERMELON TOMATO SALAD

EVENT: Summer Solstice

SERVES: 10 – 12 people

Ingredients

For the salad:

8 cups diced watermelon

8 cups roughly chopped baby heirloom mixed-color tomatoes

1/2 shallot, minced

2 cups crumbled feta cheese *

1 cup Greek Kalamata pitted olives, sliced in half *

2 7-oz bags of arugula

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

5 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing.

2. Combine watermelon, tomatoes, shallots and crumbled feta in a bowl. Toss.

3. Lightly dress arugula with dressing (a teaspoon per handful of arugula) and toss. Place arugula on plate.

4. Top with watermelon, tomato and feta mixture.

5. Top with sliced olives. Drizzle a bit of dressing over each plate.

* A NOTE: I buy feta cheese and Kalmata olives at Costco.

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