Savory Melon Salad - human chop

[RavensGryf]

As some of you know, I'm a melon freak... I remember a summer salad that I hadn't made for a few years, and although this isn't it exactly, it inspired the creation I made today.

It was so easy... I forgot to take a pic of it before I ate it all :32:. I just threw together:
*one inch cubes of melon: watermelon, casaba melon, orange honeydew
*cut up canned artichoke hearts
*finely chopped red onion
*tossed with a lite Italian salad dressing
*chill in fridge
*It's also good with hearts of palm (tastes sort of similar to canned artichoke), and cucumber too.

It probably doesn't appeal to everyone, but it's good if you like savory and fruity tastes together.

The summer salad I used to make was this below. (It was without melon, but would be good with). Everything diced small (1/2" cube or so).
Human chop. :32:
*Cucumber
*Apple
*Red Grapes (halved)
*Avocado
*Cilantro
*Red Onion
*Mixed with Italian salad dressing
*Chill in fridge

 

[MyFlock]

I made something like this today but had to improvise quite a lot. I could only find watermelon and artichoke hearts, plus I picked out a Raspberry hazelnut dressing instead of Italian. I added a honey kiss melon, also decided to try a local sweet onion instead of red.

It was pretty good! I'm going to try it again later when chilled. I really like the raspberry hazelnut dressing addition.

 

[RavensGryf]

Ooh, your creation sounds good too!

There are a lot of ways to make a summer chop salad, so if you get tired of the same ingredients, change it up a little, and it's a whole new dish! I found that a lot of the ingredients above in different combinations work interchangeably and taste just as good.

Be careful if you use red onion, it has to be chopped up real small and not use too much. I like it because it adds color, but it's usually SO strong .

 

[RavensGryf]

A good variation of the salads above are with added quinoa, couscous, or brown rice .

 

[MyFlock]

I just added cucumber to the mix. Wish I could find that casaba melon, I keep looking and so far it hasn't turned up anywhere. Yeah, the red onion I probably should have picked for the color. Now I want to try different creations like watermelon, cucumber, mint leaves etc

Today is my fresh fruit and veg shopping day for the birds so I thought I'd try out your recipe or as close to it as I could get.

 

[RavensGryf]

Thanks for trying it . Mint sounds good too! I went back to the store that had the Casaba for a few weeks, but I think it was just me buying them all LOL, and now they're all gone and they haven't ordered more . I'll have to ask about them, or search other stores for them now. Or find a weekend farmer's market somewhere.

 

[Kiwibird]

That sounds really good Julie! I might try making that on an upcoming hot day.

 

[Scott]

A good variation of the salads above are with added quinoa, couscous, or brown rice .

That salad would be awesome with any of the above! A great idea for a cold dish with the miserable hot weather we have been experiencing!

 

[RavensGryf]

I think I'll be making some variation today . It's great for the hot weather.

 

[MyFlock]

Sounds good! I'm so tired of this heat! Glad I have air con but I've still had enough of it.

 

[Flboy]

A trick with red onion is to marinate it a bit first. Much easier on the stomach!

 

[RavensGryf]

A trick with red onion is to marinate it a bit first. Much easier on the stomach!

I've also heard to soak an onion root side down in some water for ?? (I'm not sure how long) maybe a couple days? That's supposed to make it less offensive.

 

[Flboy]

A trick with red onion is to marinate it a bit first. Much easier on the stomach!

I've also heard to soak an onion root side down in some water for ?? (I'm not sure how long) maybe a couple days? That's supposed to make it less offensive.

The marinate is a simple 15 min soak in a good quality vinegar of any kind.

 

[RavensGryf]

Hm, I'll have to try doing that. Even the white or brown onion can be pretty harsh.

 

[Aquila]

I love cucumber salad, onion, cucumbers and sour cream, little salt, little pepper, and a dash of sugar.

My grandmother's waldorf salad, apples, walnuts, raisins with mayo.

And a fancy salad I had at Fogo (a Brazilian steakhouse)two weeks ago, which was watermelon, feta and basil.

Now I'm hungry!

 

[RavensGryf]

Ooh the Brazilian watermelon salad sounds yummy! :32:

 

[Aquila]

Ooh the Brazilian watermelon salad sounds yummy! :32:

Feta and watermelon is a combo I didn't expect to be that good, but the sweet and salty is delicious. If you ever have the chance, go to Fogo de Chao, I go with a group during restaurant week and it's only $35, which is as much as you can eat, handsome men bringing meat to the table and a whole salad bar of delicious sides and salads. I'm drooling just thinking about it!