Watermelon Arugula Salad
On a hot summer’s night, nothing tastes better than a light, refreshing salad. Watermelon takes an arugula salad to new heights when it’s paired with creamy cheese and tangy pickled onions. When it’s too hot to cook, you can throw this together in minutes.
Ingredients
- 4 cups arugula
- 3 cups thinly sliced watermelon
- 2 cups sliced cucumber
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- Pinch of coarse sea salt
- ¼ cup pickled red onions recipe follows
- 3 tablespoons crumbled cotija or feta
- 2 tablespoons toasted pepitas optional
- Mint & Lime Vinaigrette recipe follows
PICKLED RED ONIONS
- 1 red onion
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
MINT & LIME VINAIGRETTE
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ cup mint leaves
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Arrange the arugula on a large serving platter. Layer the watermelon, cucumber, and avocado over the top. Sprinkle with sea salt. Top with pickled red onions, cotija or feta, and pepitas. Drizzle a little of the dressing over the top and serve the remainder on the side.
PREPARE PICKLED RED ONIONS
- Thinly slice the onion. Whisk together the vinegar, honey, and salt. Pack the onion into a jar and pour the vinegar mixture over the top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Keeps for weeks.
PREPARE MINT & LIME VINAIGRETTE
- Combine the lime juice, honey, mint, salt, and pepper in the jar of a blender. Blend until the mint is finely chopped, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the blender is running, continuing until the vinaigrette is emulsified.
