Jump to our recipe: Watermelon Feta Salad
You may be wondering, “Why a watermelon recipe in fall?” We tend to equate watermelon with summertime, since not long ago, when local food systems were not as robust, we mostly relied on melons shipped up from the warmer South, which would hit the markets in early summer. But if you’re talking to your local farmer in the Northeast, their watermelon harvest typically starts in late summer and continues through autumn. Watermelon has a relatively long time to maturity, and Vermont soil needs time to warm up after the cold winter and early spring months. At Shelburne Farms, our first of two watermelon successions were seeded in the greenhouse May 19, planted in the field June 29, and first harvested on September 2.
All that is to say, we’ve got a lot of watermelon on our hands right now, and the Inn Kitchen has developed some creative dishes to put them to good use!
Our modern watermelon cultivars have some interesting planting requirements. The seeds for seedless varieties are created through a process producing only sterile plants that don’t produce pollen. Therefore, the seedless varieties (we use Ocelot) need to be interplanted with seeded varieties (we use Ace) to produce seedless fruit; the Ace plants supply the pollen in order for the Ocelots to bear fruit! Without the Aces, we’d grow a field of watermelon vines and flowers — with zero melons.
"The seeded and seedless watermelons look completely different which makes it easy to distinguish varieties when harvesting in the field,” shares Market Garden Assistant Manager Lynn Wolfe. “The seedless variety is larger, light green, with thick dark green stripes (image left), while the seeded watermelons are smaller and are pale green in color (image right).“ Check out the differences for yourself next time you find both varieties at your local farmers' market!
Watermelon & Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 watermelon
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 8oz feta
- 1 bunch mint
- ½ cup kalamata olives*
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
*Other options include: mild green olives, thinly sliced chiles, or shishito peppers.
Method
- Remove the rind off of the watermelon. Cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes.
- Pick the mint leaves from the stems. You can use the leaves whole, or cut to desired size.
- Toss the watermelon with the red wine vinegar and add in half of the mint leaves.
- Refrigerate for one hour. For the best outcome, seal the salad in a plastic bag.
- Add the feta, olives (or substitutes), and remaining mint leaves just before serving. Dress with extra virgin olive oil and enjoy.