Description
Cooling, refreshing Tomato Watermelon Salad with melon, avocado, pickled shallots, radishes, pumpkin seeds, and basil, tossed in a flavorful Tomato Vinaigrette. Vegan and Gluten-free.
Ingredients
Tomato Vinaigrette
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
- 2 tablespoons shallot
- 1–2 garlic cloves
- 10 basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Salad
- 4 cups COLD melon- watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew, or a mix
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup radishes, sliced (optional)
- 1 cup Turkish (or Persian) cucumbers, sliced
- 3 scallions, sliced
- pickled shallots or pickled onions (optional, sub 1/4 cup thinly sliced red oion)
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 15 fresh basil leaves, torn. (See notes for other options)
Instructions
Make the Tomato Vinaigrette: Place the tomatoes in a dry skillet and lightly char or blister over medium-high heat, just until softened, about 7-8 minutes. If they start popping turn the heat off. (See notes for alternatives.) Place tomatoes, oil, vinegar, maple, shallots, garlic, and basil in a blender and blend until combined (but not overly smooth). Refrigerate.
Make the optional Pickled Shallots and refrigerate.
Make the salad: Combine melon, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, cucumber, scallions in a large bowl. If making this salad ahead, store this, undressed in the fridge (assembling this right before serving). If serving right away, gentle fold enough of the dressing to lightly coat the salad (you may not need all) along with half of the fresh basil. Taste for salt and acid, adjusting salt and vinegar to taste. Place the salad on a large platter or large shallow bowl. Scatter with the pickled shallots, avocado slices, torn basil and pumpkin seeds. Pour any remaining dressing around the edges of the salad (see photos). Serve immediately- you really want this salad served cold.
Notes
Tomato Vinaigrette: Alternatively, you could roast the tomatoes in the 1/4 cup oil with the whole garlic and shallots in a 400 F oven until the tomatoes are collapsing. Then blend with other ingredients in a blender.
Variation: Instead of basil in the dressing and salad, you could sub cilantro in both, for more of a Mexican-flavored salad. Super tasty!
Make-Ahead: You can prep this ahead for the busy week, storing the dressing separately, and adding the avocado, basil, pumpkin seeds, and pickled shallots at serving time. It’s also great over a bowl of dressed greens.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 152
- Sugar: 7.8 g
- Sodium: 80.8 mg
- Fat: 11.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.8 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg