The nice people at Channel 5’s Talk of The Town asked me to make something with watermelon. I was happy to comply. (CLICK HERE TO VIEW). That gave me the chance to try out my Grilled Watermelon Salad again. It’s been a hit with my friends and family, I even made it for a cooking class, but had kind of forgotten about it this summer. This is actually a salad you could turn to any time of the year as long as you can find decent watermelon and have a grill or a grill pan, but it’s so delicious with the great watermelons that are available in farmers markets all over town right about now!
One of the best parts of this recipe is the dressing. It’s just balsamic vinegar simmered with a pinch of sugar until it reduces by about one third. No oil! It’s good on all kinds of things, like tomatoes and onions, or an avocado and grapefruit salad. Fair warning though, cooking vinegar produces an intense aroma. Not actually bad, just strong! I did not cook this dressing on live TV, I think it could have put Channel 5 off air for a minute or two!
This is truly the most versitle salad in the world. Besides the grilled watermelon, all ingredients are easy to substitute. I used arugula as a base, but spinach, endive, almost any leafy green would work.
I chose Parmesan cheese, but blue or feta would be nice. As for pistachios, I liked the hint of green, but pick almonds, walnuts, or pecans and you can’t go wrong. Really, you grill the watermelon for the pretty grill marks, but also because it makes it even sweeter! I suppose you could just use a plain old “raw” watermelon, but it wouldn’t be as much fun. Note the nice pie shaped pieces too. You could serve this like a little pizza as an appetizer. Wow! What can you not do with this salad?
Bottom line, I love to cook with the great people on Talk of The Town. They raved about this recipe, and reminded me that just a year ago I made Grilled Corn and Watermelon Salad with them. July and watermelon – it’s a natural fit!
Ingredients
· Salad
8 watermelon slices, pie piece shaped, about 1 inch thick
1 bunch of arugula
2 oz Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler
¼ cup chopped pistachios
· Dressing
1 cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup sugar
Directions
Make dressing: Boil vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until slightly reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes.
Store in a jar and refrigerate until time to use. (Will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.)
Heat a grill pan or light a grill, that has been sprayed with cooking spray or wiped with vegetable oil.
Add watermelon slices and grill about 2 minutes on each side to produce grill marks.
While watermelon grills, line salad plates with arugula.
Top arugula with grilled watermelon slices.
Top watermelon slices with Parmesan cheese and chopped pistachios.
Drizzle with cooled balsamic dressing.
