Tomato-Watermelon Salad Recipe

There’s a well-liked culinary saying that what grows collectively goes collectively, and within the case of this summery tomato-watermelon salad, that is positively true. Crisp, recent watermelon and ripe tomatoes are an ideal pairing for a straightforward, recent scorching climate salad. Right here, the 2 candy, juicy fruits (sure, tomatoes are a fruit) are completely complemented by recent mint and creamy, salty feta cheese.

Whereas the mix of substances makes complete sense, for the proper tomato-watermelon salad we had to make sure that the fruity watermelon and tomato flavors didn’t get drowned out when tossed with savory substances. Seasoned recipe developer Julia Levy put the salad by way of its paces in our take a look at kitchen to get a model that’s salty, candy, acidic, and with a touch of spice.

Julia additionally discovered a strategy to tame the juiciness of the 2 star substances whereas preserving their texture and taste. The result’s a salad that is not simply scrumptious, but additionally has a fully attractive presentation to point out off summer season’s bounty. Listed here are a couple of suggestions for making it.

7 Easy Suggestions for the Greatest Tomato-Watermelon Salad

1. Begin with three varieties of tomatoes. As clichéd as it could sound, this salad actually is a celebration of summer season’s bounty. And we lean into this concept by calling for not only one kind of tomato, however three varieties. The bigger heirloom tomatoes (any bigger heirloom selection will work effectively right here) are thinly sliced and fanned out beneath the dressed salad. This creates a beautiful presentation, nevertheless it’s additionally sensible: The undressed skinny slices of tomatoes will catch all the extra dressing and juices from the tossed salad that’s layered on prime of it, so not one of the flavorful dressing is misplaced on the plate. Smaller cocktail and cherry tomatoes, that are bursting with candy taste, are lower and tossed with the dressing and the watermelon. For a extremely fairly salad, we advocate in search of multicolored tomatoes.
2. Salt and drain the heirloom tomatoes. We use our go-to Critical Eats strategy of salting and draining tomatoes with the thinly sliced cocktail tomatoes on this recipe. It not solely ensures the tomatoes are dry and don’t leach extra water onto the serving platter, however salting them prematurely attracts out their water to pay attention the tomato’s taste.
3. Marinate the cherry and cocktail tomatoes. Whereas salting the bigger sliced tomatoes retains them from abandoning an undesirable puddle of juices, with the smaller cherry tomatoes and cocktail tomatoes that marinate within the dressing, we really need a puddle of tomato juices amassing on the underside of the bowl. Within the case of this salad the flavorful tomato liquid contributes to the dressing—it provides recent vegetal taste to the salad that pairs effectively with the candy watermelon.
4. Let the salad sit. The naturally launched liquids from the cherry tomatoes are vital on this recipe. When mixed with the added acid, oil, salt, and chile within the dressing, the juices from the cherry tomatoes kind an much more flavorful dressing. To this finish, it is necessary to let the salad sit for a minimum of half-hour earlier than serving so there’s time for the dressing to “make itself.” The marinated, softened cherry tomatoes are additionally a welcome distinction in texture to the crisp watermelon.
5. Add the watermelon simply earlier than serving. Whereas the tomatoes profit from being pre-salted or marinated to attract out extra moisture, Levy discovered that pre-treating the watermelon with salt negatively affected its texture. As a substitute, to retain the watermelon’s crips chunk, it’s best to not salt the watermelon prematurely, and as an alternative to toss it with the dressed lower cherry tomatoes proper earlier than serving.
6. Steadiness the candy watermelon and tomatoes with an assertive dressing. To counter the juiciness and sweetness of the watermelon and the tomatoes, we made an intense dressing with assertive substances equivalent to white balsamic vinegar, honey, lime juice and zest, and recent serrano chile for a welcome kick.
7. End with feta and mint. Recent mint and salty, creamy feta cheese add not solely a pretty array of colours, however these ultimate garnishes additionally deliver welcome contrasting textures to the delicate tomatoes and the crisp watermelon, in addition to a pop of earthy taste from the mint, and a briny, salty chunk from the cheese. Levy discovered it greatest to sprinkle each the mint and feta on prime earlier than serving. After they had been tossed into the salad, their vibrant colours had been misplaced when coated within the dressing.