When to Serve It

This salad is not only a great conversation starter - it travels beautifully. It is ideal for a warm weather picnic (just keep it in a cooler till serving) or a leisurely luncheon at home. Regardless of location, when this hits the table, your friends will be aghast at your creativity!

About the Cheese

What is Feta?

Feta cheese (Feta means "slice" in Greek) is one of the most versatile, multi-purpose cheeses I know of. It is a fresh cheese traditionally made from sheep's milk, but as it has become more popular, producers are switching to goat's and cow's milk to keep up with demand. In my opinion, the sheep's milk version is still the best. It is creamier (not as dry-crumbly) and sweeter (less salty) than the cow and goat varieties. But, if you're faced with a choice between cow's milk and goat's milk Feta, go with the goat - it will be most similar to the sheep.


What do you mean by "versatile"?

When I say versatile, I mean versatile. Much like butter and bacon, Feta makes almost anything tastier. Crumble it over salad or pasta. Fold it into scrambled eggs or put it in an omelet. On a pizza? Yep! Sprinkled on grilled vegetables? Absolutely! In a milkshake? No. Just testing you.

Just where does Feta come from?

You might know Feta as a traditional Greek cheese, but strong versions also come out of France and other Mediterranean and European countries - even Bulgaria and Israel! But, if you want the "real deal", stick with the Greek version.

Ingredients

Feta Cheese (about 1/2 lb.)
Again, I prefer the sheep's milk variety, but any Feta that you like will work beautifully. What will not work beautifully is the already-crumbled Feta that comes pre-packed in the grocery. Make sure the Feta comes in a chunk packed in brine. Yes, brine is salty, but you can quickly rinse the hunk of Feta in fresh water to remove excess salt. Don't be nervous here - the magic of this combination is the contrast and melding of salty and sweet.

Fresh Watermelon (about 3 lb.)
The riper and juicier the better. Simply chunk the watermelon into bite-size pieces.

Whole Pitted Black Olives (about 1/2 cup)
Pick your favorite! I like Calamatas (which are actually purpleish).

Small Red Onion
No explanation on this one. Just try not to cry when slicing into slivers.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (a few tablespoons)
This should be very good quality. You want its mellow flavor to come through.

Two juicy limes
You can always add more lime juice if necessary.

Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley and Fresh Mint (handful of each)
Remove the parsley leaves from the stalks and leave them whole - you should really taste the parsley here. Chop the mint leaves into smaller pieces.

Directions
1. Cut the red onion into slivers and soak them in the lime juice. The reason we do this is to extract some of the pink in the onion and to soften its flavor a bit.

2. Combine the watermelon chunks, Feta chunks, parsley leaves, and chopped mint.

3. Add the onions, lime juice, olive oil, and olives to the mixture and toss gently (you don't want to break the Feta into crumbs).

That's it! Feel free to add more lime juice and/or black pepper at this time.