There’s nothing simpler, nothing more refreshing and it’s perfect for summer.

My sister gave me this recipe (if you could call it a recipe, with only 3 ingredients) about thirty years ago.

The first time I served it over here was in the Deep South where it was greeted with confused amazement; one person had assumed it was a tomato salad until they took a mouthful. I’d always thought of the US as the land of the watermelon amongst other things, so I was expecting to come across numerous ways of serving it but I haven’t so far. Anyway… it’s wonderful and everyone loves this.

I like to serve it as a relish to accompany Indian cuisine and it goes with anything BBQ-y as a side dish. Or eaten on its own straight from the fridge on a hot day…

Despite its simplicity, there’s a note at the end –specifically aimed at Margarita-lovers.

Watermelon, Mint & Onion Salad

WATERMELON, ONION & MINT SALAD

Ingredients:

(Serves 2-4)

Half of a small round seedless watermelon

1/3 cup of finely chopped Vidalia onion (or whatever mild onion you can find)

1/3 cup of shredded fresh mint leaves

Action:

Cut the watermelon in half and trim a slice off the base to make it stable.

Scoop out all of the flesh and combine it with the chopped onion and shredded mint. (Aka ‘chiffonade’, made the same way as in previous recipes for kale salad; tomatoes with basil, etc).

Pile everything back into the melon shell; cover and chill for 20 mins – 2 hours.

That’s it.

Notes:

Want to make a lot? Just up the quantities to taste.

Cut watermelon into 1 inch chunks and freeze. When you make blended margaritas, use frozen watermelon instead of ice – really yummy and so pretty!