Charred watermelon salad
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Charred watermelon salad
Recipe by Sarah Cook
Charring watermelon adds a smokiness that works really well in savoury dishes. Don’t be tempted to cut the slices any thinner or you’ll risk the fruit cooking all the way through and softening before the watermelon chars on the outside. This recipe makes a generous quantity of dressing, but better to have too much than too little
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
133Kcal
Fat
11gr
Saturates
1gr
Carbs
6gr
Sugars
6gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
3gr
Salt
0.4gr
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Ingredients
- 500g rindless watermelon, cut into 2-3cm thick slices
- olive oil, to brush
- 1 x 30g pack of basil, leaves picked
- 2-3 handfuls wild rocket
- 40g pistachio kernels, roughly chopped (optional)
For the dressing
- 75g pitted black or Kalamata olives, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white or red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp English mustard powder
Step by step
Barbecue etiquette
Barbecue the watermelon ahead of other foods. That way, the grills will be at their hottest and the watermelon won’t get tainted with any meat, so both meat-eaters and vegetarians can enjoy it.
- Mix together all of the dressing ingredients (you can shake them up in a jar) and taste before seasoning as the olives can be quite salty.
- Fire up the barbecue then oil the hottest part of the barbecue grills. Lightly season the watermelon slices then barbecue them for 2-3 minutes on each side until charred (or, use a hot griddle pan if cooking indoors). Roughly cut the grilled watermelon into chunks.
- Layer up the basil, rocket leaves and watermelon chunks on a platter, drizzling generously with the dressing as you go. Scatter with the pistachios, if using.
