Watermelon Salad

My birthday dinner this year, like last year, was lobsters on the deck at my family’s Cape house. Our deck looks out over a beautiful fresh water estuary – I could sit out there all day (in fact, I did spend my whole birthday out there, enjoying Breaking Dawn and iced coffee). So I always look forward to having lobsters out on the deck at least once during the summer.

I threw together this salad to sate a craving for watermelon and because I was looking for something that was both sweet and savory to serve alongside the sweet lobsters. I love the sweet mixture of sweet watermelon, peppery arugula, clean-tasting parsley, salty olives, sharp onion (soak slices in cold water for a few minutes to lessen the impact), creamy cheese, tart lime, and unctuous olive oil. All the measurements below are rough; proportion the ingredients as you see fit.

Watermelon Salad

3 cups arugula
1 cup parsley leaves
2 cups watermelon, cut into bite-size pieces
6 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Red onion, sliced as thinly as possible (about 1/6 of an onion)
Feta cheese (about 3 ounces, crumbled)
Juice of 1 lime
Olive oil

In a wide, shallow bowl, toss together the arugula and parsley. Top with watermelon, olives, onion, and feta. Squeeze lime juice over the salad, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss lightly before serving.