My watermelon and mint salad with avocado, sumac and lime dressing. No cooking, 10 minutes to prep, and it pairs well with anything coming off the grill.
Watermelon and mint salad
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Category
Lunch
Servings
4
Prep time
10 minutes
I love making this salad during the summer months. Fresh, juicy watermelon mixed in with avocado, shallot, mint and lime juice. It’s a very easy salad to prep and it’s a no-cook salad, so you can throw it together quickly for that Sunday family lunch.
For this recipe, I like to sprinkle some sumac over it to add in some extra tang and citrus, as well as salt and pepper to balance all our flavours. For the olive oil drizzle at the end, just make sure you use your best extra virgin olive oil.
I make this when I need something quick and fresh alongside something heavier on the grill. The whole thing comes together in about 10 minutes and there’s no cooking involved. The main thing to keep in mind is timing. Once the avocado is cut and the lime goes on, you want to serve this straight away. It doesn’t hold well and the avocado will start to oxidise and the watermelon will start releasing water if you let it sit.
Ingredient Notes
Watermelon: Ripeness matters here more than variety. A sweet, well-developed watermelon carries the whole salad. The easiest way to check is to knock on it. A ripe one sounds hollow. You can also look for a large yellow or cream-coloured field spot on the underside, which indicates it sat on the ground long enough to ripen properly. A pale or white spot usually means it was picked too early.
Avocado: In Australia, Hass avocado is available for most of the year and gives a rich, buttery result. If you can find Shepherd avocado, which comes into season for a couple of months, I actually prefer it for this salad because its firmer, waxier flesh holds its shape better once sliced. Either works. Just make sure it’s ripe, which means it should give slightly when pressed at the stem end.
Sumac: Sumac is a ground dried berry used widely in Middle Eastern cooking. It has a sharp, tangy, citrusy flavour, without being acidic in the way lemon or vinegar is. It’s available in most supermarkets in the spice aisle. If you can’t find it, a little extra lime zest gets you partway there, though the flavour won’t be identical.
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Chef’s knife
- Zester or microplane
- Serving platter
- Small bowl or jar
Ingredients
- 1kg watermelon, seeded
- 1 avocado
- 1 shallot, finely sliced
- juice and zest of 1 lime
- 1 cup mint leaves
- ½ tsp sumac
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and cracked pepper, to season
Directions
Chop watermelon flesh into 2.5cm (1in) cubes.
Halve, pit and peel the avocado. And then quarter the avocado flesh, then slice into five pieces.
- Place watermelon on a serving platter, topped with avocado, then rings of shallot.
- Zest the lime over the salad then top with torn mint leaves.
- Sprinkle with sumac and season with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle over oil then the juice of the lime. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes
Chef Tips
Serve immediately after dressing
This salad is at its best within about 15 minutes of being dressed. Assemble it at the table just before you eat, not in the kitchen while other things are still cooking.
Use a ripe but firm avocado
A very soft avocado will turn into mush when you try to slice and layer it. You want one that gives a little when pressed but still holds structure when sliced into strips. If your avocado is very ripe, dice it into chunks instead of slicing it into strips, which is more forgiving on the texture.
Storage
This salad is best eaten on the day it’s made, ideally within 15 minutes of dressing. Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated but the texture will suffer as the watermelon releases water and the avocado darkens. It does not freeze.
FAQs
What does sumac add to the salad? Sumac brings a tangy, lemony pop that balances the sweetness of the watermelon and the richness of the avocado. If you don’t have it, a tiny sprinkle of extra lime zest can do the trick.
Can I leave out the avocado? Sure, but you’ll lose a bit of creaminess. You could swap in crumbled feta for a salty contrast, or just keep it simple and fresh.
Can I swap out the watermelon? Definitely. Try rockmelon, mango, cucumber, grilled peaches, or even tomato. Anything juicy and fresh will keep the salad light and vibrant.
