The heat of summer days inspires us to create lighter dishes that pair with light-body wines. Feta cheese and watermelon salad with fresh herbs from our garden is a very flavorful pairing for sparkling wines, rose, and some of the fruity white wines.
The first time we tried watermelon salad in Main. Acadia National park had several incredible restaurants. Most of them used locally grown ingredients. The fact that we remember where and when we tried it for the first time proves it was unforgettable!
Recently, our Hungarian friend made this salad with hot chili pepper, which didn’t seem as hot, combined with sweet and chilled watermelon. If you plan to have wine with this salad or after, consider milder peppers such as jalapeno.
Fresh herbs highlight flavors in every dish that features ripe fruits and vegetables. We used mint and basil grown in our yard. Of course, you can substitute fresh with store-bought herbs. However, we don’t recommend using dried herbs for this recipe because they won’t release their oils fast enough to flavor the whole dish. This salad is meant to be eaten as soon as it is prepared.
Wine Pairing
We created this salad for the summer evenings with sparkling wine.
Cremants with candy notes like Domaine Brazilier Méthod Trad Brut Rosé pair best! But do not exclude champagne and other sparkling wine made following the traditional method.
Try these:
- Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé
- Gosset Petite Douceur Rosé Extra Dry
- Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé Champagne
- Cave de Ribeauville Cremant d’Alsace Brut Rose
- Hermann J. Wiemer Brut Rosé 2014
- Ferrari Rosé Brut
We particularly liked Oregon rose pairing because of its bright strawberry flavors. Still, many other styles of rose wine will pair well, too, like Marsannay, for example.
When pairing with main dishes, we discovered that even some red wines, especially fruit-forward Washington reds, might swing together with this salad. Although sparkling rose still feels like the best pairing.
Fruity white wines such as Nauti Buoy or Oregon Pinot Gris will also pair well with the salad.
What is your pairing idea?
Summer Feta Cheese Watermelon Salad
Print ThisIngredients
- 4 cups ripe watermelon cut into 1-inch cubes, chilled
- 2 small heirloom tomatoes
- 12 basil leaves
- 20 fresh mint leaves
- 1 jalapeno pepper sliced
- Several fresh flat Italian parsley leaves
- 1 shallot onion, sliced and marinated in red wine for 20-30 minutes
- 1 1/2 cup greek feta cheese crumbled
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar from Modena
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Salt
- Balsamic Vinegar Glaze (optional)
Instructions
Cut shallot onion into thin strips and marinate in red wine for 30 minutes. We even left it in the refrigerator overnight and liked the flavor.
Sprinkle all the ingredients, except the feta cheese, over the watermelon pieces. Carefully mix them. Avoid overmixing the salad, especially if the watermelon is very ripe.
Add feta crumbled cheese spreading it evenly.
Serve immediately.
Notes
Adding some balsamic vinegar glaze on top is optional, but the salad looks and tastes better this way. Use fresh shallots if you don't have the time to marinate the onion. The salad flavors will change slightly, but you might enjoy it more.
