You best believe this Watermelon Summer Salad with Basil & Blueberries will be a show stoppin’ dish! Perhaps even the first dish emptied at your Memorial Day and Fourth of July parties!
I recently posted a recipe for Italian Chopped Chicken Salad with Fennel & Ricotta Salata and had a lot to say about hellos and good-byes and long driveways and little hands…but I didn’t talk much about the components of the salad.
And although I could easily profess my love today for fresh basil and watermelon…
…or plump and juicy blueberries…
…it’s the ricotta salata that has completely caught the attention of my taste buds…so much so, I feel it warrants a little more attention than I might normally give a single ingredient.
Are you familiar with this gorgeous cheese? Traditionally made from sheep’s milk, with a clean punch of brine, it adds a sharp and salty flavor to any number of dishes.
Now here’s the thing – what I’ve discovered through my research is that it’s touted as a cheese that complements, a cheese that cannot stand alone, a cheese that needs the interplay of other ingredients to be best served. And although I’m now (twice) guilty of incorporating ricotta salata into salads, Dom and I will happily nibble on a chunk or two, here and there, without the accompaniment of other ingredients. In our opinion, this cheese can definitely stand alone. (Are you hearing “The Farmer In The Dell”, too?)
Yes, we love it combined with other things, and I’m now imagining it sprinkled over a caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza or nestled in some pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and pesto, but we also love it paired with fresh fruit or green olives or all on its own…rebels that we are.
This cheese is pressed, salted and (best) left to age for 90 days before digging in. With its milky white color and firmly-packed texture, it can be used in any number of ways…sliced, grated, crumbled, cubed – it’s a versatile cheese that does ricotta proud.
I guess I would best describe it as feta’s first cousin with a drier personality, though, equally salty.
I hope you try this salad and love it as much as we do. I couldn’t resist going with a red, white and blue theme for the obvious reason.
With summer picnics just around the corner, who can refuse a simple salad that’s bright and fruity, fresh and herby, made with ingredients the colors of the American flag?
I know I can’t!
Buon Appetito!
Print
Watermelon Summer Salad with Basil and Blueberries
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed watermelon
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 1/3 lb. ricotta salata, cubed
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine watermelon, blueberries, chopped basil, ricotta salata and pine nuts.
- Add olive oil and gently stir until fully combined.
- Finish with a good crank or two of freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve.
CIAO!
I adore ricotta salata but don’t use it as much as I should. Loving your recipe and can’t wait to make it. I make a watermelon salad with jalapenos, cilantro and feta each summer for our July 4th party but making yours this year 🙂
YUM! Your salad sounds amazing! Love the addition of the jalapenos!! It looks like I’ll be making yours… Thanks, dear! 🙂
Hi Annie, being Italian and having so much pride in Italian product, ricotta salata is no stranger in our house, as a matter of fact my mother used to make it and I love the texture of it along with its flavor. Love the the combinations of flavor in this recipe and love the reflection of the farmer and the dell, was just about to get up and dance, have a little ho down in the kitchen
And yes we are truly rebels in the food world!
Vive la renessance
Have a great day Annie
Loreto
Thank you, Loreto! Oh my….ricota salata homemade from your mom…amazing! Oh yes – the kitchen is for more than just cooking – right? Rebels, again! Have a great day! 🙂
Watermelon is by far my hands down favorite fruit, and one of my favorite foods ever. There were times when I was a kid where that’s all I wanted for lunch. A plate of watermelon. So this sounds wonderful! And watermelon with basil is amazing!
I love it too! I remember thinking it was such a treat when I was a kid! I love it icy cold on a hot summer day! Thanks, friend!
This sounds so interesting. I tend to eat watermelon by itself or mix with other melons. I never would have thought about basil, nuts and cheese! I’m am simply going to have to give this a try so I will know how delicious it is!
I really think you’ll like it, Kathy! Happy eating! 🙂
I love the diversity of colors, flavors and textures here…the sweet and the salty, the crunchy and the juicy, mmmm! I am going to be on a mission to locate the ricotta salata here, because you’ve really reminded me how much I love it. I’ve had it in pasta dishes, but never on a salad. Brava!
I remembered that you like ricotta salada. This is such an easy and delicious way to incorporate it into your meal! Thanks, friend! 🙂
So beautiful I almost saluted! Ha! Love the mixture here of fresh fruit and the basil, but definitely the show stopper is that ricotta salata. I need to find or ask my deli guy about this one. Thanks Annie. Beautiful.
Hahahah – you crack me up! I think you’d really like it…worth a chat with your deli guy! Thanks, Kevin!! 🙂
Such a festive salad, Annie, with a nice balance of savory and sweet. I don’t think I could share this with anyone! I am so excited about Summer produce/berries/fruit, I can hardly stand it! It’ slowly coming on here.. we’re always later then what seems like everyone else! I am so excited to try this too! Thank you for sharing!
I get it! Our CSA doesn’t start for another couple weeks…I can’t wait! Thanks, Traci! 🙂
Oh gosh! You have combined all of my favoirtes in on bowl! I need to come to your place to enjoy all the delicious stuff you make, Annie. This salad looks so bright and delicious.
Anytime, Anu! I would love it!!! And then we’ll go to your house so I can enjoy all of your amazing creations! 🙂
Watermelon and cheese is the best combo – love the salty cheese with the juicy watermelon, too good! This salad is so gorgeous Annie – it’s perfect for summer — definitely think it will be on my Memorial Day menu! Beautiful photos as always!
We can’t have too many summer salad recipes, can we? This is a yummy one! Thanks for your kind words, my friend! 🙂
Annie, before I get rambling about all the things I love about this post, I must first start with this: that watermelon and basil photo is AMAZING!! Seriously though, the photos you take of fresh ingredients (and cake and everything else) are just beautiful. I feel like I’m privvy to some utopian farm Martha Stewart food photo secret archive or something (there goes the rambling…) 😉 Imagine my pleasure when I scrolled down to see the blueberries photo. Happy as always to enjoy all of your wonderful recipes. This one in particular is making me crave summer so, so bad. Until then… Pinning! Have a great weekend, Annie. xo
Hahahaha! You crack me up, girlfriend! You say the sweetest things! Thanks for pinning! Have a great weekend! 🙂
You certainly caught my eye with that cheese. I’ve never heard of ricotta salata, but I am a feta snob and refuse to eat feta unless it is made with sheep’s milk (not so easy to find in Canada) so I imagine I would adore this cheese! Have a giant watermelon sitting on my fridge shelf that I normally only use for cocktails but I think it’s time to switch things up 🙂
Oh yessss, I think it’s time to switch things up, however, you make the yummiest cocktails! 🙂
Saw this in IG and I wanted a heaping bowl full, Annie. So pretty and delicious – the perfect summer salad. I love mixing salty cheese with fresh fruit – the contrasting tastes are wonderful. Pinning!
Thanks, Geraldine! Nothing like fresh juicy watermelon with a bit of salty cheese! 🙂
The combination of watermelon and a nice salty cheese is like prosciutto and cantaloupe – a PERFECT marriage! This is an incredible compliment to any grilled goodness going on during Memorial Day… and of course all summer long! Pinning! Cheers my friend!
Ahhhh! Yes, exactly right! And that’s one of my all-time favorites, too! I can see a lot of this salad in my future! Thanks, friend! Cheers! xo
Another great combination of ingredients, here, Annie! They meld and blend beautifully and you pics are worth the amazing flavors! Although I can’t have ricotta salata on its own, too salty and dry for my taste, I’m so glad you’re bringing it to the attention of people. It is an exceptional substitute for feta (like you said, its first cousin) and it is wonderful grated on pasta (like Pasta all Norma, the one with eggplant, the famous sicilian pasta dish). Beautiful!
So glad you like it, Nicoletta! I know – Hubby and I seem definitely in the minority on that one! Hahahah! We love it any which way! Thanks for stopping by with a kind word, my friend! 🙂
This salad is everything summer should be, Annie! Beautiful, bright, and refreshing! Love all the flavors you have going on here! Ricotta salata is totally delicous on its own, I agree, but it looks mouth watering good here, paired with the fruit and basil! This is a salad I could eat for days! Pinned! Cheers, dear friend! Xoxo
Why thank you, friend! It really is a perfect complement to the sweet and juicy fruit! I have a feeling I’ll be eating a lot of this salad this summer! Cheers! xoxo
This salad screams summer! What a wonderful combination of flavors and agreed, I love ricotta salata! What a beautiful addition to our upcoming summer holidays! Take care.
That’s what I thought! I have to admit – Dom and I ate the entire salad after I got the shots…it is so good! Thanks, my friend!
Talk about a beautiful Summertime salad, Annie! Love those colours and it just looks so fresh. Plus, I love every single ingredient in here. Pinned 🙂
Simple, quick, juicy and full of flavor! That’s what summertime cooking is all about! Thanks, friend!
Your ingredients look so fresh and colorful I want to take a bite out of my screen. I’ve been looking for fresh basil and have not had too much success. Oh for summer and my own garden grown!! Beautiful salad — bravissima.
Why thanks, Marisa! Oooooh – you’ll have your garden grown before we know it! Have a great day, friend!
So I have to admit that I don’t like watermelon at all, but I’m loving everything else about this salad! Such a great idea to combine blueberries and basil. I can only imagine how fresh this must taste!
Wowza! Hmmm – what about another melon in place? Or maybe no melon, just the blueberries with all the fun stuff or maybe strawberries? Hahaha! Or just eat the cheese and see how you like it! 😉 Thanks, friend!
I’ve never had ricotta salata! But if it’s anything like feta, I’m going to love it. The sharpness of the cheese with the sweet fruit must be incredible!
It’s a perfect complement! I recommend it – if you like feta – I think you’ll really like this! Thanks, friend! 🙂