The freshness of watermelon in the summer is absolutely delicious! I have been eating so much of it lately.

There are many different ways to prepare watermelon, it makes it really fun to have the variety. This salad combines sweet watermelon with tangy goat cheese and salty, crunchy pistachios. The simple dressing is made from fresh lemon balm leaves and a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar! The flavors in this salad are off the chart!!

Have you ever used lemon balm in the kitchen? It’s my new obsession—super easy to grow in the herb garden and you can use it in dishes like this or just by putting whole leaves into boiling hot water to make a lemony tea.

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh lemon balm (or lemon verbana) leaves
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 seedless watermelon, cut into cubes
1/4 lb fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Heat the oven to 350°. Place the pistachios on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the lemon balm with the vinegar, olive oil and sea salt. Press the lemon balm to grind it a bit while mixing. Let the vinaigrette mixture sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.
Put the watermelon cubes in a large bowl. Dot with the goat cheese, drizzle the vinaigrette, and sprinkle the pistachios on top. Finish with salt and pepper to taste.

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