August 30, 2012

End of Summer Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad {Powernap}

Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad via The Naptime Chef

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

When I was in Cooperstown earlier this month my mother whipped up this delicious watermelon salad for a potluck. Sadly, I wasn’t invited to the potluck, but I did get a chance to take a photo of it and sneak a quick taste before she whisked it away. While I haven’t replicated the entire thing in my kitchen yet I have made a small, individual version. It is so easy! The whole premise is blending yellow and red watermelon (or just red if you can’t find yellow), sprinkling in some fresh goat cheese and torn basil, drizzling it with balsamic reduction and voila, summer salad! I highly recommend this easy portable dish for your weekend Labor Day potluck. We have one tomorrow on the beach and this is exactly what I’ll be taking to serve the crowd.

(Note: Now that I am finally prepared (I think) for back to school I’ll be back next week with our regularly scheduled programming. Have a great weekend!)

Recipe

Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients

1 small red watermelon (about 4 cups) cut into chunks
1 small yellow watermelon (or about 4 cups) cut into chunks
1 small log plain goat cheese, crumbled
6 or 7 large basil leaves, shredded
2 to 3 tablespoons balsamic syrup (instructions below)

Instructions

1. To make the syrup combine ½ cup of balsamic vinegar with ¼ cup sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved and mixture reduces by half. Remove from heat and cool. Can be made ahead.

2. Combine the watermelons in a wide, shallow dish. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top, followed by the basil, then drizzle with the balsamic syrup. Serve!

Naptime Notes

Naptime Recipe Serving ideas

Since watermelon can get soggy try not to assemble this salad until just before you are ready to serve it or take it in the car to the party. Be sure to include a wide, shallow spoon for guests to serve it with. If you won’t have goat cheese crumbled feta would taste wonderful too.

Naptime Stopwatch

10 minutes prep time

Naptime Reviews

My mother has made this twice for potlucks and now people are beginning to request it. At home I just crumble some goat cheese and fresh basil into my regular bowl of watermelon and top with a few drops of balsamic – yum!

4 Responses to “End of Summer Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad {Powernap}”

  1. […] Get Watermelon Salad Recipe on The Naptime Chef […]

  2. […] If you like watermelon, you’ll definitely want to try this watermelon goat cheese salad before the summer fruit disappears for the season. With just a handful of simple ingredients and a prep time of 10 minutes, this could easily become my go-to salad for late summer. (The Naptime Chef) […]

  3. Logo Design says:

    Looks lovely will have to try this one out later on.

  4. […] Watermelon-Goat Cheese-Basil salad is such a fave. It will even be in my next […]