Grilled Watermelon

With summer in full swing, and watermelon readily available at Harter House, why not try something different and out of the ordinary.  This recipe will not disappoint you or your guests.


Grilled Watermelon Salad
1/2 Medium Sized Watermelon
3 Large Chunks Feta Cheese
1 Large Handful Mint
Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper
Start first by dispatching your watermelon. I find it easiest to cut the ends off and trim the rind off down the sides like an orange. Lay it on one of it’s flatter sides and cut across width-wise to make giant 1″ thick discs. You’ll be tempted to chomp into one of these, but try to restrain if you can.

Trim each giant slice into a square and save the trimmed pieces for breakfast. Cut your square o’ melon in half, and each half across diagonally to create something reminiscent of a right triangle.
Layer these slices on a tray and drizzle each lightly with olive oil. Crank up your grill. When the grill is hotter than J-Lo’s back-end on a hot plate place the slices on. Close the lid and leave them alone for 1-2 minutes. After a couple minutes turn the melon slices and grill another minute to develop grill marks on both sides.
Layer the slices up on a long plate, but use one that’s got some depth because they release a lot of juice. Use a flat plate and you’re gonna have a mini BP spill on your hands, only much tastier.


Top the watermelon with a pinch of salt, crack or two of black pepper, the feta cheese crumbled into bite size pieces, and finally with the mint torn into thin pieces.
I had a feeling this was going to be good but it exceeded my expectations 10 fold. The grilling creates a serious sear on the melon that tastes like rich balsamic or some other sweet reduction. The caremelized juices collect around the melon coating the feta which bounces off the fresh mint and spicy black pepper.


Recipe reprinted from http://www.paultuorto.com/giustogusto/?p=3114