Recipe from August 13, 2016: Tomato, Watermelon, and Cucumber Salad

recipe ingredientsExpecting another 90 degree day with high humidity, a “no-heat” demo seemed the way to go. Turns out we had a break from the extreme weather, but this recipe sounded so good I went with it. I am glad I did! It is really tasty.

Kelly’s Farm provided the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and basil, and Farmer Dave’s provided the watermelon. Ackermann’s Maple Farm saved the day when I needed something sweet to temper too much vinegar!

Tomato, Watermelon, and Cucumber Salad

2 large red tomatoes
2 lb. Watermelon
1 cucumber
½ small red onion*

Dressing:

3 tbsp. red-wine vinegar*
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. fresh-ground pepper
¼ c. fresh basil leaves

Prepare the salad: Gently toss tomatoes, watermelon, cucumber, and onion together in a large bowl and set aside.

salad sample croppedPrepare the Dressing: Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour vinaigrette over the watermelon mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

There were no red onions, but the white onion from Kelly’s Farm worked just fine. Also, I used rice vinegar instead of red wine vinegar. I ended up putting too much vinegar into the original mix, but I then added a bit of dark grade maple syrup from Ackermann’s Maple Farm, which resulted in  just enough sweetness to temper the tang.