This sounds like it shouldn’t work but it really does!! It’s a perfect side dish when you’ve had enough of lettuce-y stuff, and just want to change things up a bit. The sweet crunchy watermelon, with the soft salty feta, the bright mint and the warmth of the onion is crazy good. We had this for supper tonight, after a big brunch, it was all we needed, and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

The original recipe is one by the utterly fabulous Shelly Adams in her book Whitewater Cooks With Passion. Do check her out at https://whitewatercooks.com/ where you can also find where to get her books – they are so beautiful to read, and her recipes are so delicious to cook.

These are the ingredients for this salad… simple, right?

All I did was lighten up the original recipe a bit, and now it’s regularly on rotation and so low in calories that I can plan to have a dessert too!

I’ve served this for dinner with friends, and watch as they take a piece or two just to be polite, then dig in for more till the dish is empty! It’s always a winner.

Recipe: Watermelon Feta Salad 127cals 

Serves 2 as a light lunch or a generous side.

Ingredients 

• 550g fresh watermelon (prepared weight)
• 4-5 fresh mint leaves, very finely chopped 
• 15g red onion, very finely chopped 
• Freshly ground black pepper 
• Sea salt
• 30g reduced fat crumbled feta cheese

Method 

• Cut the watermelon into irregular, bite sized chunks and place in a serving dish
• Finely chop 15g of red onion and about 8 fresh mint leaves, and scatter them over the watermelon. 
• Generously add freshly ground black pepper, and crumble a good pinch of sea salt over everything.

• Gently mix together and leave aside for 2 minutes. The salt will draw out the juices, eradicating the need for olive oil.
• At the last moment, add 30g of crumbled feta and serve straight away.