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Easy Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

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Easy Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

We’ve been all things fall this week with back to school and football excitement, so it seemed like a good time to remember that we still have watermelon and summer produce for a little while longer.  I don’t know about you, but I sure do love some grilled watermelon.  Toss in some feta, mint, and balsamic reduction and I’m totally in the middle of summer even though we are staring Labor Day and the beginning of fall right in the face.

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

Speaking of Labor Day, this Easy Watermelon and Feta Salad would be absolutely perfect to take to the cookout, picnic, or whatever festivities you may have planned to celebrate the holiday and three day weekend!  Woot!  So, what are you plans this weekend?  We decided to take a sort of last minute end of summer trip to the beach.  We’re headed to Hilton Head and turning this three day weekend into a five day vacation.  Heck yeah!  Unlike our last trip to the beach about a month ago, this one will just be the two of us without other family or little people shenanigans.  We’re all about the relaxation this time.

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

Although there might be some boogie board action again.  We’ll just have to buy one for Chris, since we don’t have any little people to steal borrow them from this time.

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

Whether you are going to the beach, a cookout, or having some friends over this weekend, I highly recommend that you make a grilled watermelon and feta salad.  You can totally change it up by using mozzarella instead of feta, basil instead of mint, or plain balsamic vinegar without reducing it.  You could also just grill a watermelon and call it a day.  It would be delicious!

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction
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Easy Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients

  • 1 small seedless watermelon rind removed and sliced into 1/2 - 3/4 inch wedges
  • 4 - 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup mint or basil leaves

Instructions

  1. In a small sauce pot, bring balsamic vinegar and honey to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thick and syrupy - 5 - 10 minutes, set aside to cool slightly while you grill the watermelon
  2. Grill watermelon slices over high heat 1 - 2 minutes per side
  3. Arrange watermelon slices on a platter, crumble feta over the top, drizzle with balsamic reduction, top with mint and/or basil leaves

Grilled Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic Reduction

Grilled Radicchio and Romaine Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Mango Dressing

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Grab your tongs and get your grill on!

 

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I’ve been grilling and putting beer in everything I can get my hands on lately.  There is no beer in this post, but stay tuned – there are some beer dishes and brewing posts coming very soon.  For now, how ’bout we just grill up a salad.

 

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I’ve been totally obsessed with mangoes lately too.  Which is weird – I have never been a big fan of the mango.  I didn’t grill them, but I did add one to the salad and tossed another one in the blender to make not one, but two salad dressings.

 

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Yeah – a hers and his because that’s the way we roll around here – some of us like it spicy and some of us are weenies.

 

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I’ll leave it to you to figure out who is who.

 

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Happy weekend, Y’all!

 

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Grilled Radicchio and Romaine Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Mango Dressing

Ingredients

For the Shrimp and Marinade

  • 1 lemon both juice and zest
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced, grated, or pressed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon DIjon mustard
  • 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

For the Dressing

  • 1 mango peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced, grated, or pressed
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 red chili pepper
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad

  • 1 head radicchio cut into quarters or eighths - depending how big
  • 8-10 asparagus stalks
  • 1 head romaine halved or a package of romaine pre-washed and separated
  • 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 mango peeled, pitted, and cubed
  • 1 avocado peeled, pitted, and sliced

Instructions

For the Shrimp and Marinade

  1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a zip top bag
  2. Add shrimp, seal, and refrigerate for 1 hour

For the Dressing

  1. Combine all ingredients except the water in a blender and blend until smooth
  2. Use water to thin 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency
  3. I removed about half the dressing into a Mason jar then threw the chili pepper into the blender with the remaining dressing and blended until somewhat smooth

For the Salad

  1. Heat grill or grill pan on high, lightly coat with cooking spray
  2. Toss radicchio, asparagus, and romaine in olive oil and salt to taste
  3. Add radicchio and asparagus to hot grill or grill pan and grill for 3-4 minutes, depending on size, turning radicchio 1-2 times and asparagus every minute or so
  4. Remove from grill to a platter and tent with foil
  5. Remove shrimp from marinade into a bowl, discard marinade
  6. Add shrimp to grill or grill pan, cook in 2 -3 batches if you don't have enough room to do all at once (I did 2 batches) about 2 minutes on one side and flip, cook another minute or so, depending on size - remove slightly before they are done and put on plate and lightly cover with foil tent, repeat with the rest of the shrimp
  7. Grill romaine - a couple of minutes if using a whole head split in half, about 1 minute for single leaves
  8. Add romaine and asparagus to the platter with the radicchio, arrange avocado and mango on same platter and toss shrimp and any juices from the plate over the top
  9. Serve with dressing

Notes:

  • Here is the deal on the divided dressing – I do not like spicy food, but for Chris – the hotter the better!.   I usually end up dividing things up and adding a bunch of spice to one and leaving the other without.  That’s what I did here.  I split up the dressing and added a chili pepper for Chris.  I seeded it and he said he would have like more heat, so use your own judgment.
  • You can also add more dried cayenne pepper to the shrimp marinade.  I could taste it and Chris could not, so it really depends on your tolerance.  For a scale – I have none and Chris is off the charts spicy man.

Update:  For some reason I must have lost my mind and in the recipe had only 2 tablespoons of olive oil. It now reads 1/4 cup and depending on your taste could be 1/3.  Also, salt and pepper to your preferences.