Savory Watermelon Summer Salad

THIS is what summer dreams are made of!

I love watermelon- grilled, juiced, frozen into ice cubes for cocktails- it’s versatile. A savory summer salad is a fun way to enjoy the quintessential summer melon.

For this recipe I used a small seedless watermelon, so it made enough for 5 or 6 side salads. Just serving two people? Cut back, or make the whole thing and eat it over a few days. I seasoned and “dressed” the watermelon separately and then assembled the salads individually so none of the greens were left soaking in the citrus juice. There are also a lot of possible substitutions: Don’t have arugula? Spinach could work. No shallot? Try a red onion. No idea what cotija cheese is? Try a chevre or feta cheese. It’s versatile, so play around and enjoy something new.

Ingredients

• One seedless watermelon
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/2 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Arugula
• basil
• mint
• squash blossoms
• cotija cheese
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Cut up the watermelon into bite sized cubes. Add the chopped shallot, squeeze lime juice on top, sprinkle paprika, and toss to coat. Portion into a bowl and add some arugula, basil, mint, slices of squash blossoms if you have them, and some cotija (or feta) cheese. Drizzle some high quality olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Hazelnut Pesto

I bought a bouquet of basil at the Boulder Farmers’ Market. When I picked it up, I knew it was large. When I got it home, the enormity of this bouquet really struck me. What’s a gal to do with so much basil? Pesto, of course.

I had raw hazelnuts in the house, so I decided on hazelnut pesto. I’d never made it before, but walnut pesto is great, so hazelnut pesto should be great, too. And, it is.

First, I roasted a couple cups of hazelnuts in the oven at 200 degrees until they became fragrant. Reminder: PAY CLOSE ATTENTION WHEN ROASTING NUTS! You turn your back for a second and they burn…

When they were cool, I peeled off the skin.

Then it’s all quite simple. I peeled some garlic from the market, washed the basil, found my olive oil.

It took four batches in my mini food processor, plus a little sea salt and freshly ground black peppercorns, and I have multiple meals-worth of pesto.

Finally, I filled two ice cube trays to freeze my pesto so I can enjoy the flavors of the summer harvest in the fall or winter. When I thaw my little pesto cubes, I’ll add some grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Walnut Pesto

Mozzarella and Basil Salad