Watermelon & Tomato Salad
What the heck — tomatoes and watermelons are both pink and round summer fruits, so why not put them together? I admit, I had to be prodded into the idea by a tomato-watermelon gazpacho recipe I spotted in this month’s edition of Food & Wine, but once I started thinking about pairing the two, I agreed that it seemed like a good idea. Tomatoes certainly straddle the fruit-vegetable worlds, after all; it seemed like watermelons might be able to do the same thing. A few ears of freshly cooked sweet corn and some snippets of aromatic chives in this dish tie it all together.
Watermelon & Tomato Salad
Serves 2 for lunch.
2 ears fresh corn, husked
About 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
About 2 cups chopped watermelon (about half of a small, thin-skinned watermelon)
Fresh chives, snipped
Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the corn kernels off of each ear and into a large bowl. This works best if you point the ear point side down into the bowl, then hold the knife at a 45 degree angle to the corn so that you’re cutting into the ear halfway between parallel and right down onto it. Slice off the kernels in one direction (starting about 1/3 of the way down the ear), then flip the ends and cut off the remaining kernels. If you get your knife too deep into the kernels and the blade get stuck, just pull out your knife, readjust your angle, and try again. After a few slices, you’ll have mastered the exact angle you need.
Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Add corn and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until the corn is just beginning to shade from golden to light brown. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add tomatoes, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Remove from the corn mixture from the heat and spoon it all into a large glass mixing bowl. Toss with fresh watermelon cubes and snipped chives and serve immediately, garnishing with an additional long blade or two of chives if you wish. (Crossing them to form a decorative “X” over the plate is always a classy touch.)
Enjoy!
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Tags: chives, corn, salad, summer dish, tomato, watermelon
