Fennel & Watermelon Salad
(Credit for above photo to Krestan Kühnen).
I was shopping at a new (to our city) organic market last week and when I got to the checkout, the cashier told me I’d earned a free gift for spending over $50. She offered me the choice of 4 items, but the only one that really appealed to me was an organic watermelon. I asked her to choose one for me and she chose one that was literally larger than a 6 month old baby!
After struggling to the car with this gargantuan thing and then manhandling it into the kitchen, I had to decide what the heck to do with it. Since it’s been pretty hot here lately, I thought a nice, fresh salad would be a good idea. I just made this up on the spot, but all three of us really enjoyed it. Then I gave the rest of the watermelon to my mum to use as they eat a lot more fruit than we do and their fridge is always a lot less full than ours is 🙂
Here’s what I did to make the salad…

To a large bowl, I added 1/4 cup roasted walnut oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard and S&P to taste. I whisked this together until emulsified.
Fennel & Watermelon Salad
- ¼ cup roasted walnut oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 large organic fennel bulb
- ½ organic red onion
- Handful fresh, organic mint
- 4 cups organic watermelon, cubed
- 1 cup cubed feta cheese
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives, sliced
- Small bunch organic chives, chopped
- Into a large bowl, add oil through S&P.
- Whisk until emulsified.
- Using a mandoline, thinly slice fennel into the bowl, reserving fronds.
- Also using the mandoline, but on a finer setting, thinly slice the onion.
- Add watermelon, cheese and olives and toss well.
- Serve in individual bowls topped with chopped chives and fennel fronds.