Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad

This Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad with pomegranate molasses vinaigrette is a fresh, delightful salad, perfect for the hot days of summer ahead for many of you. Here in Houston, they have already arrived!

Now it seems that watermelon feta salads abound on the internet but several years ago, while we were still living in Dubai, I saw my first one. By the hostess station – please wait here for us to seat you! - it was just a photo on a new restaurant menu with the watermelon and feta cut in perfect alternating cubes. It was both beautiful and, I imagine, delicious. 

We were meeting a friend for lunch elsewhere in the mall so I never got to try it but I’ve never forgotten it either. I wanted to create the same dish here but my feta would not cooperate. As I tried to cut it into cubes, it just kept crumbling. 

That’s when I threw my model salad aspirations to the wind and decided to add the cucumber for color and crunch. It was a good decision. Nothing more cooling than cucumber, except perhaps for juicy watermelon.

Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad

For the vinaigrette, to keep with my Middle Eastern theme, I used pomegranate molasses, which is tart with a hint of sweet and is very more-ish in salad dressings and marinades. Most Middle Eastern or Mediterranean shops will carry it. If you truly cannot find it, substitute rich balsamic vinegar. Or you can make your own, as I’ve done when I’m desperate, by gently boiling down pomegranate juice until it’s as thick as molasses. I know, I know, I'm weird like that. 

Ingredients

For the salad:

(about) 2 lbs or 900g cubed watermelon

1 English cucumber (about 10.5 oz or 300g)

1/2 small purple onion

3.5 oz or 100g sheep’s milk feta, crumbled

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (available in most Middle Eastern stores or online)

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

fresh ground black pepper

good pinch fine sea salt

Method

For the vinaigrette, whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside. 

As I mentioned above, I was trying to make cubes of my watermelon so I cut a large cross-section in the middle, lengthwise. 

Since the feta didn’t cooperate, my watermelon didn’t really need to be perfect cubes, yet here I was, not knowing yet, so I was cubing. 

You do you and cut the watermelon however you want. Flavor will NOT be affected. (No watermelon was wasted in the making of this salad! We ate it all, just not in this salad!)

Next trim the ends and cut the cucumber into half circles. 

Thinly slice your purple onion. (Wanna call it red onion still? See my hill here.)

If you so desire, attempt to cut your feta into cubes. Abandon this step as I did, if not successful. No photos here as it was a crumbly massacre. *shiver* Just resign yourself to crumbles. It’s all good. 

Arrange the watermelon cubes (and feta cubes if you got lucky!) and the cucumber half moons on your platter. Distribute the purple onion slices evenly on top. 

Scatter the feta crumbles (if you didn’t get lucky!) over the watermelon and cucumber. 

Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses vinaigrette and serve slightly chilled or at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

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