Watermelon, Feta and Arugula Salad with Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette

I have a wonderful summer salad to share with you today!

Remember how I wrote in my last post that I have been loving watermelon lately? Well, I decided to try it out in salad form. A friend of mine hosted a pot luck last night and asked me to bring a salad. As I was brainstorming ideas for a creative new combination, this one came to mind.

It was very simple with just arugula, watermelon, feta, almonds and mint but each of the five ingredients added something that combined made for delicious and special salad. The saltiness of the feta was so good with the sweet watermelon and the mint seemed to enhance the flavors of everything. I couldn’t resist adding the sliced almonds for a little contrasting crunch!

I went running with a friend yesterday and shared my salad idea. She said that she’d made a similar salad before but with a pepper jelly dressing. I thought that sounded awesome so I used her dressing suggestion and made a pepper jelly vinaigrette. It was so good!

I highly recommend that you make this salad this summer! It was a hit at the party I attended and is a beautiful salad for entertaining. It’s also super simple to prep and transport!

Watermelon, Feta & Arugula Salad with Pepper Jelly Dressing
(Recipe created by Jen DeCurtins)

Ingredients:

FOR THE SALAD
8 ounces arugula
1 cup mint leaves, julienned
2 cups diced watermelon
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Salt and pepper, to taste

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
1/4 cup pepper jelly
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the arugula and mint and toss to mix together. Add the watermelon, feta and almonds on top.

In a separate bowl, combine the pepper jelly, lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar and whisk to combine. Pour the pepper jelly vinaigrette over the salad mixture and then gently combine using salad servers.

Yield: 10-12 side salad servings