Melon salad with lime, chilli and cilantro

THIS salad just shouts SUMMER! It’s based on one of the many wonderfully tasty and inventive recipes from Smitten Kitchen.

It combines seasonal fruit — in this case, watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew and even a few pieces of pineapple, but as the original recipe suggests, you can substitute other fruit or even seasonal vegetables because they should all work deliciously with the zesty topping.

I substituted the recommended cotija cheese because I really like feta, specifically Salakis “würfel” (diced) feta with red and black peppercorns in a light rapeseed oil dressing (I found it at Co-op though it may be available elsewhere). This variation is lighter and less oily or rich than in its other permutations.

I also did a “no-no”, adding salted, UNroasted pepitas (pumpkins seeds), which got a bit soggy once mixed in. So next time I will use the recommended roasted pepitas or maybe roasted, salted pistachios.

Finally, I upped the amounts on some ingredients and also added a little lemon olive oil for a bit of citrusy richness. I hope you enjoy it.

Melon salad with lime, chilli and cilantro topping

Serves two as a main or four as a side.

Ingredients:

4 cups cubed or balled melon from cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon
juice of one lime
2 tbsp lemon olive oil, for e.g. from O&Co.
half to 1 tsp chilli powder
coarse salt, to taste (the feta also adds saltiness so don’t overdo it…)
1 – 2 tbsp roasted, salted pumpkin seeds (or try pistachios)
1 large handful of fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
100 grams Salakis cubed feta (as described above)

Preparation:

Mix the melon pieces in a large serving bowl or dish. Squeeze over the lime juice, sprinkle with the salt and chilli powder and then scatter the feta, cilantro and pumpkin seeds on top. Serve chilled.