Sunday, July 4, 2010

watermelon salad.

i've recently discovered the website wise bread and occasionally they have some interesting tips for cooking, such as:

"6 unique ways to eat watermelon"
by Linsey Knerl.

as for my own contribution, i had an amazing watermelon salad, some weeks ago. i didn't ask for the recipe, so this is my best guess:

  • seedless watermelon, diced into bite size chunks,
  • seedless cucumber, diced,
  • finely chopped cilantro
  • fresh lime juice
  • salt/pepper to taste.
it really worked. cilantro and lime are generally good partners, and the watermelon adds a simple, fresh sweetness to the mix.

variants:
  • i think diced jicama would work, since it's a fleshy, water-rich vegetable. to offset the lack of sweetness, it might be wise to add an orange-lime juice mix.
  • mango or papaya could also work well, but this changes the salad to a more dessert-like dish. when i ate this watermelon salad, it was actually a side item with dinner.
  • don't underestimate the cucumber: it provides a coolness that is hard to mimick. for example, i don't think celery would do as well.
  • radishes are water-rich as well, but their peppery flavor might act strangely against the cilantro-lime.
  • if you're not a fan of cilantro, then parsley or basil would probably work just as well, though i'd switch from lime to something more salad-ish, like a rice (wine) vinegar.

No comments: