Bread Salad with Watermelon, Feta, and Red Onion

Bread Salad
with Watermelon, Feta, and Red Onion

Makes 4 servings.

Bread Salad
The combination of feta and watermelon is one that Greek connoisseurs savor with special gusto. There is no recipe for enjoying the two together. Cut-up watermelon is served on one plate with a little feta cheese, or served separately and left to each diner to join the two together in a forkful. Here, I take this elemental duet and make something a little more special. Seek out the sweetest watermelon and Dodoni feta. You can find the latter in most Greek and Middle Eastern food shops, as well as in specialty cheese emporiums. The feta from Dodoni in Epirus has a firm, creamy texture and can be cut into cubes without crumbling.

Ingredients

1 Cretan barley rusk or 1 thick slice
of stale country-style bread
1 medium red onion, sliced into thin rings
3 cups cold watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup (about 4 ounces) Greek feta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon sherry or raspberry vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
A few mint sprigs

Instructions

Dampen the bread under running water and then hold it over the sink for the water to drip off. Break it into chunks, about 1 inch each. Place the chunks on the bottom of a serving bowl and sprinkle half the onion slices over them. Place the watermelon and any of its juices together with the feta cubes on top. Drizzle in the vinegar and toss gently, careful not to mash the watermelon. Season with pepper and garnish with the remaining onion slices and mint. Serve.

Buy the Book!

from:
Meze
Small Plates to Savor and Share from the Mediterranean Table
by Diane Kochilas
William Morrow
Hardcover; Pages: 208
$24.95; $38.95 (CAN)
ISBN: 0688175112
Recipe reprinted by permission.