Serves 4 to 6
A green, a fruit, an onion, and a cheese—this is my summer version of an ideal salad, but you can just as easily substitute seasonal fruit for winter, spring, and fall. Watermelon and onions may seem an unusual pair, but the mingling of sweet and heat allows your mouth to alternately cool down and warm up.
4 cups loosely packed arugula
½ medium onion, cut into slivers
12 mint leaves, snipped with scissors into coarse pieces, plus a few tiny leaves left whole
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinaigrette (here)
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
¼ watermelon, rind removed and cut into 8 (½-inch-thick) triangles
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Toss the arugula, onion, and mint with the vinaigrette to thoroughly coat. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the watermelon on a platter and scatter half of the feta over it. Arrange the greens over and scatter the remaining feta on the greens. Drizzle a bit of olive oil around the platter, season with a pinch of pepper. Garnish with the mint and serve.
VARIATION: The addition of rare seared tuna to this salad makes for a complete meal. Preheat a pan with a slick of canola oil on medium-high heat. Season the tuna on both sides with salt and pepper. Sear for two minutes on each side. Slice against the grain about ¼ inch thick and toss with salad.