Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad is light, vibrant, refreshing and perfect for summer. Add a tangy raspberry vinaigrette dressing for a truly heavenly bowl.
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Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad – a seasonal treat
This colourful, refreshing Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad is full of favourite summer flavours. There is nothing I enjoy more than filling a bowl with these amazing ingredients, sitting in the sunshine and munching. And at this time of year, the watermelons are at their juiciest and the cucumbers at their freshest. Throw in a little Mediterranean Feta, some finely sliced red onion and a good dressing and I am transported to sunnier climes.
The key ingredients
Cucumber
Most of the year, I avoid cucumber. To be honest, the fruits you buy in most supermarkets are bland and boring. But at GFHQ we love to grow a couple of plants every year, and these cucumbers I love. There is simply no comparison. Home-grown cucumbers are full of flavour, oozing with juice and quite delicious.
Grown in the greenhouse, the plants give us an abundant crop of the mini cucumber variety. And for a handful of weeks it can feel like a deluge. So, finding ways to use them in bulk is a pleasurable necessity. Raw green smoothies use a fair few. But this watermelon cucumber salad is also perfect… As a meal for one, I can use a whole mini cucumber at each sitting.
Watermelon
Equally, I am a huge watermelon fan. But just like with cucumbers, I am picky. Too many pips and I find them tedious and messy. Which is where baby watermelons come in. Found in good supermarkets (I get mine in Sainsburys), they are pretty much pip-less. And that makes them perfect to cut and eat with no extra effort.
When I say ‘huge watermelon fan’ I am not kidding. When pregnant, watermelon was my craving… Mid-pregnancy I was literally eating a watermelon (of the large variety) a day. Although my ability to eat that quantity has significantly diminished, I still love the stuff, so adding it to cucumber for a watermelon cucumber salad seems the obvious way to go.
Of course, watermelon is not just to be eaten… It makes the most incredible Watermelon-Bacardi Cooler too!
Feta
No cheese speaks to me of summer more than Feta. Is it just me? Whether it’s crumbled over Shakshuka, the star ingredient of a Spanakopita Spinach Tart, or Baked Feta Greek style with peppers, tomatoes and herbs, it has the ability to bring holiday vibes and chill the mood. I even use it as a key ingredient in my Pandebono (Colombian Cheese Bread) which is a regular accompaniment to another favourite simple, summer Mediterranean dish of ours – green beans cooked in tomatoes.
Feta is however, particularly perfect with a simple salad and makes an appearance not just in this delicious Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad, but also in my Summer Salad Picnic Jar.
Shave your cucumber for the best Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad
If you are getting the impression that I can be a bit particular about the food I eat, you’d be right. But I think the experience of eating a dish is as important as the ingredients that go into it. And that includes texture, shape and size… both visually and in the mouth.
So, if you have never tried ‘shaving’ cucumbers to eat, I urge you to give it a go. Eating thin ribbons rather than fat chunks may just change the way you prepare cucumbers forever. You have to agree… the cucumber ribbons look way more attractive than your average cubed or sliced cucumber salad. But wait until you have tasted them… your taste buds are in for a treat.
How to shave cucumber
Shaving cucumber for salad is easy, but you do need a specific vegetable peeler for the job. What you need is a ‘Y’ Peeler (I use this one from Oxo Good Grips). It’s the same one that I use for my Zucchini Roll-Ups. Once you have one of these, the possibilities for shaved vegetables is infinite… (and peeling potatoes is a cinch too).
To shave, take the cucumber and peel off one strip (it will consist of a line of tough top skin) and discard. Then simply shave over this line so that you have thin ribbons edged with a tiny bit of skin, until you reach the softer core.
Now turn the cucumber to the opposite side and repeat. Then do the same for the other two unshaved sides, so that you are left with a squared off middle… Don’t throw this away. You can cube and toss it into the salad for extra texture and interest.
Extras and dressing
So that’s the basics of my Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad. I usually add (and have included in the recipe below) a little finely sliced red onion, a handful of toasted pumpkin and pine nut seeds for crunch and a little seasoning.
In addition, I dress either with a simple mix of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, or a deliciously tangy raspberry vinaigrette. But it’s your salad and you can choose whether and what you drizzle across the top.
Ready to make Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad?
I’d love to hear what you think of my Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad. It’s interesting that Mr GF (who is not a salad fan) really really enjoyed it. So, I hope you will too.
Leave a comment or ping me an email. Alternatively, you will find me on social media (links at the top of the page).
If you are looking for other light recipes, we have some ideas over on our Salad & Soups Index. For everything else, grab a drink and spend a while perusing the drool-worthy Recipe Index… We love to share for free here at Gluten Free Alchemist.
Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad
Key equipment
- chopping board
- large sharp knife
- sharp vegetable knife
- Vegetable Y peeler
- serving bowl
Ingredients
- ½ baby watermelon de-seeded (if necessary) and cubed flesh
- 2 baby cucumbers or 1 large – shaved (see NOTES)
- 1 small red onion halved & finely sliced
- 200 g Feta cheese drained and crumbled or cubed
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds toasted
- 2 tbsp pine nuts toasted
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the cubed watermelon, shaved cucumber and sliced onion.
- Arrange in a bowl.
- Sprinkle the crumbled/cubed Feta over the top.
- Add and sprinkle the toasted seeds to the bowl.
- Season to taste and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Key equipment
- airtight jar
Ingredients
- 2½ tbsp raspberry vinegar good quality
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Measure all the ingredients as stated into a sealable airtight jar (such as an old jam jar).
- Seal the lid and shake vigorously.
- Taste a little on a spoon and adjust to taste by adding a little more of any of the ingredients to your preference.
- Store in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad shared with :
- Meatless Monday with Confessions of a Mother Runner
- What’s For Dinner #265 with The Lazy Gastronome
- Fiesta Friday #342 with Angie and The Not So Creative Cook
- Full Plate Thursday #498 with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
- Cook Blog Share with Lost In Food
Great combination for a cool fresh salad! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us at Full Plate Thursday and please come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you Helen. You’re welcome x
watermelon and feta are always a yummy combo! Great dressing too
Thank you Deborah. It’s been a summer favourite this year x
Great combination of the sweet and salty! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Michelle
Thank you Michelle. You’re welcome x
Such a great combo! I love simple summer salads like this one 😀 Eb x
Thank you Eb. Me too. Definitely obsessed with this one this year x
Do you know what, I reckon Lewis would love this recipe. He adores water melon and is getting through lots of cucumber this summer too. Fingers crossed
I hope so Rebecca. It’s such a delicious combo. Get him to shave the cucumbers himself too… SO therapeutic! x
I love the nut combination! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope to see you there tomorrow too!
Thank you Helen. You’re welcome x
This is beautiful and would be such a refreshing dish in this hot weather.
Thank you. It’s perfect for hot days and light lunches! x
This is exactly the kind of light but super-tasty salad that I want to be eating at this time of year. I’ve had watermelon and feta before but the addition of cucumber and the raspberry vinaigrette take it to the next level!
Thank you Joanna.
We had so many home-grown cucumbers, they needed a use! But shaving them also makes an amazing difference to how they taste. x
This is a perfect summer salad. I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Catherine. I may be a little obsessed with this one this year xx
I love the combination of feta and watermelon. A lovely dish for this hot weather
Thank you Louise. It’s been perfect in the heat x
I’m so envious of your homegrown courgettes. We haven’t grown them for years, but I remember just how good they were.
As for your salad, I’m in heaven. I’ve had watermelon and feta salad twice in the last week and I’d have it more often if I could get hold of good watermelon. I was spoilt when I lived in Egypt. Their watermelons were abundant and so tasty! I too am a bit fussy, but I’ll take your tip and see if I can find some baby ones.
Thank you Choclette. We seem to have had a great harvest of garden-grown veg this year.
Baby watermelon’s are a bit of an obsession with me this year… x