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Taste Bud: Watermelon salad
A trending recipe onlineGrowing up in Jakarta, I used to live on watermelons
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A trending recipe online
Growing up in Jakarta, I used to live on watermelons. There wasn’t a day that I didn’t have a stash in the refrigerator during my university years, after I realized that I couldn’t snack on Oreoes anymore or mom would have to buy me new jeans every month.
I didn’t realize how lucky I was to be able to find one of my favorite fruits all year round at an affordable price. Now that I live in Italy, I only get to enjoy watermelon in season in the summer. Sadly, fall is at the door and I’ll have to wait for 10 months until they reach the markets again. These days I’m taking every chance I have to include them in my meals.
Watermelon “pizza”
Serves 6
400-500 g watermelon
50-100 g Greek yogurt
2-3 apricots
1 nectarine or peach
50 g strawberries
50 g blueberries
1 teaspoon desiccated coconut
Few Greek basil leaves (optional)
- Watermelon “pizza” has been trending all this summer on social media. Whoever thought of it is a genius. If you skip the basil leaves, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to persuade your children into eating fruit. How could they resist such a cute snack? Feel free to substitute the toppings with the vast array of tropical fruits available in Indonesia.
- Cut watermelon in middle to form two large round slices two-cm thick. Remove seeds using skewer or point of knife.
- Divide each disc into six to eight equal triangles and spread a thin layer of yogurt over each pizza slice. This would be the mozzarella cheese that glues the fruit to the watermelon.
- Cut apricot and nectarine into thin wedges and discard pits. Halve strawberries and a few blueberries.
- Arrange assorted fruits over pizza to taste, ensuring each slice has an equal amount of toppings.
- Sprinkle with desiccated coconut to resemble grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with Greek basil leaves, if desired. Greek basil leaves have a mild taste and pretty petite leaves. Regular Italian basil has a taste that is stronger and overpowering.
- Serve immediately.
Watermelon salad
This healthy side dish is inspired by the classic Greek salad made of cucumber, tomatoes, green pepper, red onions, oregano and black olives. I tweaked it by adding watermelon as the main hero, substituting oregano with basil and skipping the olives. This light and refreshing salad is an ideal accompaniment to grilled meat or cheese, such as Greek halloumi.
Serves 6
1 kg watermelon
1 large cucumber
1 green pepper
15-20 cherry tomatoes
¼ red onion
100 g feta cheese
Basil leaves, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
- Discard peel and seeds from the watermelon left from pizza.
- Cut flesh into about 3-cm cubes and dice feta cheese into smaller cubes.
- Deseed and slice green pepper into thin “ings.
- Peel cucumber and chop into rounds. Halve cherry tomatoes. Peel and slice red onion into thin strips.
- Place everything in large shallow bowl.
- Tear 2-3 basil leaves into small bits using tip of the fingers and add a few more whole ones into salad.
- Season with salt and extra virgin olive oil. Toss lightly with hands to distribute condiments and feta cheese evenly.
- Serve immediately.
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Jakarta-born chef Theodora Hurustiati, a 13-year resident of Udine, Italy, was the runner-up in the TV cooking program La Scuola – Cucina di Classe (The School: Classy Cooking).
