Crazy salad

[pallas_athena]

It's certain that fine women eat
A crazy salad with their meat...
W B Yeats, A Prayer for my Daughter

Last night, I made my favourite summer salad. Seriously, this is summer in a bowl. It sounds incongruous but tastes divine:

-Cubes of watermelon
-Pieces of fresh tomatoes
-Leaves of basil
-Crumbs or cubes of feta cheese
-balsamic vinegar (The secret ingredient that ties all the flavours together)
-a splash of olive oil
-black pepper

And as a bonus, a piece of silliness I randomly posted to MetaFilter a year-and-a-bit ago:

Your own personal cheeses
Someone to feed you cheese, down on your knees
Your own personal cheeses
Cheddar and brie and blue, only for you

Feeling unease when you're out of cheese,
Curds and whey at the close of day
Offer a wish up, I'll bring a Stinking Bishop

Your own personal cheeses
Parmesan, Ro-que-fort, you can have more
Your own personal cheeses
If you're not sated yet, try the Raclette

Feeling undone by a ripe Stilton,
Cotherstone melting in the sun
I will deliver, you know I like the chèvre

Climbing the walls, mozzarella balls
Pepper Jack, you're about to crack
If you really need 'em, I'll slice you up some Edam

Reach for the chutney

Comments

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

I love the filk.

And the salad isn't so different from what I often do, with mixed greens, feta, raisins, and possibly some tomato and / or avocado. I use some citrusy oil as dressing.

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

Sounds delicious!

[laughingmagpie.livejournal.com]

That song... that song is brilliance! It goes with the tune so well that as I was reading the words the music was forced into my head. Well done!

And that's an awesome salad. Mint is good instead of basil too. I haven't put tomatoes in mine before, so I will try that next :-)

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'll have to try some mint-- watermelon and mint are a great combination!

Not too long now till you're here (for a day)! O joyful day~!

[laughingmagpie.livejournal.com]

Yay! The thought makes me happy as well!

[miriya-b.livejournal.com]

O that looks very very yum! And not too distant a relative of the watermelon gazpacho we often have made in the summer (originally a recipe printe din the NYT), dominated by watermelon (derrr!) and tomatoes + basil, olive oil, pepper...and also cuke, vidalia/sweet onion...

[miriya-b.livejournal.com]

For your dining pleasure, courtesy the New York Times food section (with adjustments):

Watermelon Gazpacho

3 very ripe tomatoes, cored & seeded
4 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 2-inch chunks
1/2 large vidalia onion, or other sweet onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into (can you guess?) large chunks
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 and a half tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
coarsely ground black pepper

1. In a blender, combine tomatoes and watermelon. Puree for about 30 seconds. Add onion, cucumber, garlic, basil, olive oil, lemon juice, and S&P to taste. Blend (instructions say "puree until very smooth, about 2 minutes"; we prefer a chunkier gazpacho, and only blend on a low setting for something around 30 seconds or less).

2. Adjust lemon juice, S&P to taste. If necessary (or desired), thin with water until loose enough to drink from a glass (again, their idea, not ours.)

3. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours. (They propose serving it in tall glasses with 2 ice cubes therein: WHY? We serve it in a bowl...though for a party/potluck with lots of people, glasses or mugs have been known to be used too.)

Yield: 6 servings (6 cups)